CPL 2019 Final - Guyana Amazon Warriors vs. Barbados Tridents
The 2019 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has reached the last stage of the season where Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) and Barbados Tridents will face off for the title. After a gruelling few weeks, we're now just one match away to decide the best team in the Caribbean islands.
Guyana Amazon Warriors are the hot favourites on 10Cric.com this season owing to their performances in the league stages and the qualifier. They have put a marker in the league for the rest of the teams to follow, and it will be a surprising result if they don't go home with the trophy in their hands.
Standing in their way is the Jason Holder-led Barbados Tridents. They do boast of star power in their squad, but the doubts over the fitness of South African JP Duminy could weaken the side. Their fortunes would lie in the hands of Shakib Al Hasan, Shai Hope, Alex Hales, and Holder.
Guyana have been one of the strongest teams throughout the Hero CPL T20, qualifying for the final thrice in the previous 5 editions. Despite their dominance, what will give Barbados hope is the fact that Guyana have lost all 3 of their previous final appearances. Barbados, on the other hand, know what it takes to make the final step, having won the coveted trophy back in 2014.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
GAW have not put a foot wrong this season and is banking on the likes of Brandon King, the 24-year old centurion in the semi-finals. Shoaib Malik, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran are some of the bankable players in high-pressure situations who can turn the game in GAW’s favours.
GAW are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination for the final and one can expect the same line-up from them. Brandon King was the stand out performer in their previous outing where he led them to victory single-handedly by hitting a majestic century. He has already scored 453 runs in this tournament and has been the star performer of the team.
GAW are one step away from their maiden title which they have been eyeing for the past six years. According to the Cricket experts, they are expected to break their barren run.
Barbados Tridents
On the other hand, Barbados Tridents will be hoping to shrug off their performances in the previous 2 seasons, where they finished 5th and 6th, with their second CPL trophy.
The team's batting department would be reliant heavily on the likes of Alex Hales, Shai Hope, and Johnson Charles to score the majority of their runs. The all-rounder trio of Shakib, Holder, and Nurse could be tough for Guyana to keep quiet. Their bowling department is led by Gurney and Walsh along with a slew of all-rounders in the side.
A big dampener for their preparations for the final would be the fitness of Duminy. The South African suffered an injury in the match against Trinbago Knight Riders. With the experience he possesses, Duminy can be crucial in high-pressure matches and the team management will be sweating over his fitness. If he can’t make the cut, Aussie Dan Christian is most likely to replace him.
Bottom line:
The final between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Barbados Tridents promises to be another action-packed match with both teams eyeing to overpower the opponent with their brute hitting.
Although Guyana are 10Cric's favourites to win the trophy, the winning experience eludes them, which is in favour of the Tridents.
Log on to 10Cric.com to send in your predictions for the match and get a chance to win big in the final match of the 2019 Hero T20 Caribbean Premier League.
Also see – World Test Championship Schedule