WALTON & WAQAR STEER THE KNIGHTS TO THEIR 5TH CPL FINAL | Q1: TKR vs GAW | CPL 2023

The Knights faced off against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in Qualifier 1 of CPL 2023. This was certainly a highly-anticipated game because it was a clash of the table-toppers. The stakes were high as the winner of this game would go straight into the final. Guyana had the wood over TKR all season long but when the big game came, the big guys stepped & steered TKR to their fifth final.

Skipper Pollard won the toss and chose to bowl first. The TKR bowlers as always were on their spots from ball one. The spin duo of Akeal & Waqar picked up important wickets to stem the flow of runs. Some accurate and lethal bowling from Terrance Hinds did not allow the GAW batters to establish any sort of momentum. Hinds, who hasn’t played many games this season, stepped up in the big game for the Knights. With economical & wicket-taking spells all through the innings, the Knights restricted Guyana to a total of 166.

In the run-chase, the TKR openers provided a solid start. Chadwick Walton came out all guns blazing alongside Deyal. Despite the loss of Deyal’s wicket, the momentum continued to be on TKR’s side due to an effective partnership between Walton and Pooran. It was the Chadwick Walton Show in the run chase as the veteran batted throughout the innings and helped make the run-chase a smooth one for the Knights. With six fours and four sixes, Walton remained unbeaten on 80 to steer TKR to yet another CPL final. The Knights will be looking forward to replicating a similar performance to clinch their fifth CPL title.