CPL 2026, ABF vs TKR 14th Match Match Report, August 22, 2026

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 168 for 5 (Shadab 52*, Perera 34*, Hinds 2-36) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 165 fo 6 (Munro 46, Pooran 43, Cornwall 2-17, James 2-23) by five wickets

Allrounder Shadab Khan struck an unbeaten 20-ball 52 to complete a remarkable turnaround for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons (ABF) and lifted them to No. 1 on the CPL 2026 points table on Saturday night. Walking in at No. 7 with Falcons at 92 for 5, Shadab combined with Kusal Perera (34*) for an unbroken 76-run partnership off 33 balls as they chased down 166 with nine balls to spare.

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) had 37 runs to defend from the final three overs, but a 27-run 18th over, delivered by Nathan Edward, transformed the chase. Shadab struck three sixes in the first four balls of the over to swing the pressure back onto TKR. With 11 then required from the last two overs, he quickly finished the game with two more sixes off Terrance Hinds to seal the win and the Player-of-the-Match award.

Falcons had begun the chase in rollicking fashion, with Rahkeem Cornwall taking 14 runs from the first over. But he was run out off the first ball of the second while trying to scamper through for a single. The next three Falcons batters struggled to maintain the early momentum: fellow opener Amir Jangoo made 31 off 36 balls, Evin Lewis took 14 balls for his 10, and No. 4 Hasan Nawaz managed just one run from 10 deliveries. When Moeen Ali became the fifth batter dismissed at the start of the 13th over, Falcons still needed 74 runs from 6.5 overs and were well behind the required rate. Shadab and Perera, however, took the chase deep before exploding in spectacular fashion to complete the win with relative ease.

Earlier, TKR were inserted and posted a respectable 165 for 6, although they should have had more. Colin Munro shellacked 46 off 33 balls and Nicholas Pooraz blazed 43 from 17, but beyond the two left-handers, there wasn’t much more. Cornwall accounted for Alex Hales (2) and Matthew Breetzke (2), while Joshua James dismissed Kieron Pollard for nine off 16 balls.

Sunil Narine (19*) and Hinds (14*) put on an unbeaten 34-run stand from 3.5 overs to bookend the innings, but ultimately it proved far too little at North Sound.

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