Defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors set up a date with Saint Lucia Kings in the final of CPL 2024 following a one-sided Qualifier 2 in which they registered a comfortable eight-wicket victory against Barbados Royals. A disciplined bowling performance from Amazon Warriors, led by Romario Shepherd (3-35) and Moeen Ali (2-24), restricted the Royals to 148. Amazon Warriors’ top three fired with the bat, with Hope scoring a half-century and putting on a 93-run stand with Moeen (44*), as they took their team over the line with 5.3 overs to spare.
Moeen hit a couple of boundaries in the first two overs to get Amazon Warriors going in the chase before Gurbaz got into the act, striking successive sixes off Maheesh Theekshana. Naveen-ul-Haq came under attack from his Afghanistan team-mate as Gurbaz got 18 off the fourth over, which included a six and two fours. Theekshana was hit for another six that took the partnership past 50 before the spinner hit back by dismissing Gurbaz for 40 off 18. Amazon Warriors, however, continued to attack as 18 came off the sixth over, bowled by Jason Holder, with Hope scoring two fours and a six.
Amazon Warriors got to 72 in the powerplay and by the halfway stage of the innings, they had raced to 113 as Hope and Moeen raised a brisk half-century stand. Barring the seventh over bowled by Ramon Simmonds, in which only four runs were scored, the rest of the overs were profitable from Amazon Warriors’ perspective with Hope and Moeen dealing in big hits regularly as they brought the equation down to 36 off the last 60 balls. Hope entered the 40s with two successive fours off Theekshana in the 11th over and got to a 26-ball fifty two overs later. Moeen got into the 40s with a four off Obed McCoy and took the winning single in the 15th over after Hope was bowled by Simmonds.
Earlier in the first innings, Quinton de Kock hit a four and a six inside the first three overs but was otherwise kept quiet and was eventually out caught and bowled by Gudakesh Motie for a run-a-ball 15. Rahkeem Cornwall struck a flurry of boundaries before being trapped in front by Shepherd. The Royals managed 41 in the powerplay and just when they were looking to press on, with Alick Athanaze and Kadeem Alleyne batting positively, both fell in quick succession with Moeen Ali and Imran Tahir striking in successive overs.
Rovman Powell looked to transfer the pressure back, hitting a four and a six off Moeen, but the former England all-rounder had him caught in the deep to leave the Royals in more trouble. David Miller, who struck a couple of sixes off Tahir, contributed with a 26-ball 36 as the Royals looked set to finish close to 160. But they failed to cross even the 150 mark as Shepherd bagged two wickets in the final over and there were two run-outs too, preventing the Royals from executing a final flourish.
Brief scores: Barbados Royals 148 in 20 overs (David Miller 36, Alick Athanaze 26; Romario Shepherd 3-35, Moeen Ali 2-24) lost to Guyana Amazon Warriors 149/2 in 14.3 overs (Shai Hope 56, Moeen Ali 44*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 40; Ramon Simmonds 1-26) by 8 wickets.