CPL 2025: Tahir, Hope and Hetmyer combine to make it two in two for Amazon Warriors

Captain Imran Tahir turned back the clock with a sensational five-wicket haul as Guyana Amazon Warriors stormed to their second consecutive win in CPL 2025, dismantling Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by 83 runs in a rain-hit match in North Sound.

Chasing a steep target of 212 for their third win, Falcons were not allowed to settle at any point after a flying start, thanks largely to Tahir’s spell of 5 for 21.

Falcons raced to 58 runs in the first four overs but lost both openers – Rahkeem Cornwall and Jewel Andrew – in the process, both to Dwaine Pretorius.

Karima Gore’s 31 off 14 balls kept the good work going, but once he was dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the fifth over, the run rate dipped sharply.

Tahir, 46, made an immediate impact with a double-wicket maiden in his first over – the seventh of the chase – removing Shakib Al Hasan and captain Imad Wasim.

His trademark googlies and flighted deliveries triggered a middle-order collapse as Falcons slipped from 77 for 3 to 116 for 8, losing five wickets for just 39 runs. Eventually, they folded for 128 in 15.2 overs.

These were also Tahir’s best figures in the CPL.

Earlier in the evening, Warriors had made a strong start before rain halted play for nearly an hour after 5.5 overs.

Shai Hope top-scored with a clinical 82 in 54 balls at the top of the order. Having managed just 33 off his first 32 balls, Hope accelerated after the 11th over, smashing 49 off the next 22.

He got big support from Shimron Hetmyer, who blazed 65 off just 26 balls, including five sixes and five fours, as the pair had a commanding 106-run partnership off just 44 balls for the third wicket.

Even after Hope’s dismissal, the Amazon Warriors’ innings didn’t lose momentum, with a late flourish from Shepherd – an unbeaten 25 off just eight balls – pushing the total to an imposing 211 for 3.

The last nine overs of the innings had Warriors accumulating 145 runs, 41 of which came from the last two, which proved more than enough in the end.

The result took Amazon Warriors, with two wins in two games, to the second spot on the table, which is topped by Falcons, whose two wins have come from five outings. (ESPNcicinfo)