New Delhi:
Trinbago Knight Riders lifted the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2018 trophy as they defeated Guyana Amazon Warriors by 8 wickets at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad. Colin Munro smashed an unbeaten half-century to power TKR to the victory in the final as he got brilliant support from Brendon McCullum (39) and Denesh Ramdin (24). Colin Munro also completed his 500 runs in the CPL 2018. Trinbago Knight Riders became the first team to successfully defend the CPL title. This was TKR's third CPL title overall.
"Unbelievable, it was excellent to come out tonight and finish it off, despite a couple of losses in the back end of the tournament. Thankfully I didn't have to leave it to anybody else, despite the firepower around me. The coaches and the management have backed me to go out there and play my natural game. Sometimes it doesn't come off, but they've trusted us. We were chasing a par score, but we managed to romp home in the end. My coach (Katich) asked me to be consistent, and he said he wanted me to be at the top of the leaderboard. He's always been encouraging to me," said Colin Munro after the match.
Batting first, Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) scored a competitive 147 runs after opener Luke Ronchi played a knock of 44 runs. However, he did not get any solid support from his colleagues as the second highest score in the batting line-up was of 24 runs by Jason Mohammad.
Chasing the target of 148 runs, TKR made a solid start as opener Denesh Ramdin and Brendon McCullum scored 52 runs for the opening partnership, after the departure of McCullum, it was the Colin Munro show as he took the game away from GAW.
And that final moment. The @TKRiders win the CPL Final 2018! #cpl18 #cricketplayedlouder #biggestpartyinsport #cplfinal #GAWvTKR pic.twitter.com/9tTug13ekr
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 17, 2018
"I'm really glad we finished the job. I have gained a lot of experience and I am glad that I could contribute to my team's success. The TKR family has been amazing and I hope I will see them next year too," said a jubilant Fawad Khan.
Munro you a beast!!!
— TrinbagoKnightRiders (@TKRiders) September 17, 2018
Our Run Machine gets the winning runs for us !ðŸ˜#PlayFightWinRepeat #TimeForARepeat #GAWvTKR #CPL18 #CPLFinal
We are the CHAMPIONS!!!! 🇹🇹
— TrinbagoKnightRiders (@TKRiders) September 17, 2018
ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†#PlayFightWinRepeat #TimeForARepeat #GAWvTKR #CPL18 #CPLFinal
Kharry Piere scalped 3 wickets in his 4 overs and was the one to send the dangerous Munro back to the pavilion. Skipper Dwayne Bravo took two wickets.
"A lot of teams came hard at us. They always had the talent, but they havd the hunger too. We thought we'd put Green under pressure with Ramdin at the top. Fawad gas been a great wicket-taker and Ali Khan has done extremely well for us with the new ball and at the death. Really proud of these guys," said TKR Coach, Simon Katich after the final victory.
"Thanks to my team-mates. I think in a tournament like this you expect to lose some games, but the good thing is that we have benefited from those losses. And we had the best depth in the tournament. We are three-time champions, and credit goes to my entire squad," said TKR skipper Dwayne Bravo after the win.
Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant 3 for 29.
"Very happy with my performance. I backed myself today, and went with the mindset that I will be the man tonight," said Pierre.
Colin Munro won the Man of the Tournament for his sensational 567-run season.
"I think on these surfaces, you can't go from ball 1. Tried to get my way in and myself set, and then capitalise at the end. Every team were going to try and beat us, so we had to be strong. Khary came back so strong after being dropped for the semi-final. There's a few more supporters here for me than at home (laughs). It gives you the extra motivation to get one step better," he said during the post-match conference.
