CPL 2020: Knight Riders, Zouks to meet in final after registering crushing wins in semi-finals

Tarouba: Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks registered dominant wins in their respective semi-finals to qualify for the Caribbean Premier League final. The Knight Riders are now in a position to complete the first perfect season in CPL history, as they have won all 10 league matches plus the semi-final. The Trinbago Knight Riders restricted Jamaica Tallawahs to 107 for seven and then chased down the target with nine wickets and five overs to spare to give them a chance to win a fourth CPL title. In the other semi-final, St Lucia Zouks were even more ruthless as they bowled out Guyana Amazon Warriors for 55 in 13.4 overs for the lowest total in the season and got to the target in 4.3 overs without losing a wicket. [caption id=“attachment_8799871” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Lendl Simmons scored unbeaten 54 as Trinbago Knight Riders defeated Jamaica Tallawahs. Image: Twitter/@CPL[/caption] While Trinbago Knight Riders has an ownership same as Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, the Zouks are owned by the same promoters as Kings XI Punjab. Sent in to bat, the Tallawahs struggled as each of the first three overs yielded a wicket. Akeal Hosein accounted for Jermaine Blackwood and Mujeeb Ur Rehman, while Khary Pierre sent back Glen Phillips as Tallawahs were reeling at 10 for three in 2.4 overs. The misery continued with the dismissal of Asif Ali off Hosein, who finished his four overs for three wickets and conceded just 14 runs and also bowled a maiden. He was adjudged Player of match. The powerplay period ended with Tallawahs at 28 for four and it included a Pierre over with five wides. Nkrumah Bonner resisted alone, but it was never going to be enough. Bonner was finally bowled by Fawad Ahmed for 41 off 42 balls with five fours and Tallawahs were 63 for five in 11.4 overs. Thereafter Rovman Powell (33 in 35) and Carlos Braithwaite (13) did their best as the Tallawahs crossed the 100-mark. Chasing the modest target, Knight Riders lost Sunil Narine for four in the second over, but Lendl Simmons (54 in 44 balls) and Tion Webster (44 in 33 balls) made it feel like a breeze as they cantered home in 15 overs with an unbeaten 97-run stand. In the other semi-final, the Zouks skittled out the Warriors for the second lowest team total in CPL history and then blazed to victory in just 27 balls to complete one of the most one-sided wins in T20 history. Zouks captain Daren Sammy put the Warriors in and reaped immediate benefits. Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer were back without scoring off the third and fourth ball of the innings bowled by Scott Kuggeleijn. Nicholas Pooran denied Kuggeleijn a hat-trick, but only a single and a wide followed. Mohammad Nabi followed up with a maiden to leave the Amazon Warriors 2/2 after two overs. Chandrapaul Hemraj (25) made the bulk of his team’s total of 55 and Pooran (11) and Chris Green (11) were the only ones to reach double digits as the Warriors were dismissed in 13.4 overs. Kuggeleijn, Roston Chase, Zahir Khan and even Mark Deyal took two wickets each. Chasing a paltry 56 for a place in the final, Rakheem Cornwall gave Zouks a rousing start as he launched Chris Green for two sixes in the first over and hit Imran Tahir for four through short fine leg. He then nearly broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end with a straight drive. Deyal hit fours off each of his first two deliveries, and the Zouks were almost halfway to their target after two overs. The two openers were not separated when the target was achieved and it was one of the most dominant showing in CPL history. Cornwall made 32 in 17 balls and Deyal had 19 in 10 and between the two they had five fours and four sixes, which means 46 of their 56 came in boundaries. Knight Riders will face the Zouks in the final on Thursday.