Opening batsmann Lendl Simmons (84) and Darren Bravo (58) both ended unbeaten, helped guide the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to completed the first perfect season in franchise T20 history with an unbroken partnership of 138 off 88 balls, the highest of Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 and the highest ever in a final.
TKR defeated the St Lucia Zouks by eight wickets after set 155 for victory in the title-match at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando on Thursday. The Zouks with their first final appearance posted what seems as a competitive total, but ultimately a loss of 7/39 off the last 32 balls of their innings cost them dearly against this history-making Knight Riders squad.
All season, the Knight Riders had absorbed the loss of key personnel - Colin Munro fractured his hand, Ali Khan missed games, Narine had kidney stones removed and was unable to play the final with a knee injury. But perhaps the 12th and final win is the greatest measure of how great a squad Pollard and Brendon McCullum have built - victory was achieved two wickets down, with 11 balls to spare, without DJ Bravo bowling or Pollard batting. The Knight Riders had come together in the bubble, and emerged from it to achieve something truly monumental.
FINAL RESULTS
Trinbago Knight Riders 157/2 (Simmons 84*, DM Bravo 58*; Chase 1/13, Kuggeleijn 1/30) beat St Lucia Zouks 154 all out (Fletcher 39, Deyal 29, Najibullah 24, Chase 22; Pollard 4/30, Fawad 2/22, Ali Khan 2/25, Hosein 1/26) by 8 wickets
Result: TKR won by eight wickets.
Series: TKR win 2020 CPL title.
Man-of-the-Match: Lendl Simmons.
Man-of-the-Series: Kieron Pollard.