The 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is heading to an exciting climax with Trinbago Knight Riders set to take on St Lucia Zouks in the final at Tarouba on Thursday. Trinbago Knight Riders are unbeaten in CPL 2020 and will be favourites heading into Thursday’s grand finale. However, St Lucia Zouks aren’t pushovers and have the players at their disposal to stand up and be counted on when it matters most. Here, we have a look at the players from both teams who could be the difference-makers in the final.

Lendl Simmons

Trinbago Knight Riders�?leading run-getter (272) this season, Lendl Simmons will be eager to finish the tournament on a high, having played a significant role in his side’s unbeaten run to the final. The explosive right-hander scored an unbeaten 54 in the semi-final win over Jamaica Tallawahs and is averaging 30.22 at a strike rate of 112.40 in CPL 2020. 

Simmons�?fifty against Jamaica was his second of the tournament following his 96 against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, and it won’t come as much of a surprise if he’s among the runs in the final. His ability to find the boundary ropes frequently has seen him hit 18 fours and 16 sixes this season.

Fawad Ahmed

Fawad Ahmed has been one of Trinbago Knight Riders�?most impressive bowlers this season having claimed 11 scalps at an average of 19.45. He has come good with the ball by picking up wickets at crucial junctures and breaking partnerships. His best performance in the tournament so far came against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Fawad seemed to be unplayable against the Patriots and finished with the Player of the Match award courtesy of his figures of four for 21.

However, he went wicketless against the Zouks in his last meeting against them and you can rest assured that he’ll be looking to set the record straight on Thursday.

Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo’s ability to consistently contribute with both bat and ball is what makes him so special, and an asset for any team to have. The all-rounder from Trinidad’s ability to keep a lid on proceedings during the death overs could well prove to be crucial in the final and his abundance of experience in the T20 format is certain to make for an assuring presence for the rest of his teammates to have on the field. Bravo, in fact, thrives under the pressure of competing in the shortest format of the game and recently became the first player to 500 T20 wickets. Expect him to make his presence felt in one way or another in the final.

Scott Kuggeleijn

No bowler has managed more than Scott Kuggeleijn’s 16 wickets in the CPL this season. He picked up two wickets in his very first over in the semi-final and will be confident in his ability to make a difference against the Knight Riders. The New Zealander took two wickets in his last meeting against Thursday’s finalists but was slightly expensive, having conceded 35 from his four overs. Needless to say, Kuggeleijn will be keen to keep things tighter in the final as he hopes to finish as the season’s top wicket-taker. He boasts a bowling average of 14.75 and a strike rate 11.31, making him the Zouks�?biggest threat with the ball.          

Roston Chase

The all-rounder from Barbados has scored 203 runs at an average of 40.60 and a strike rate of 106.84 so far. Roston Chase’s runs have come at important times for the Zouks and he’s hit two fifties, besides also contributing with the ball. He’s taken eight wickets from 10 matches and has an impressive bowling average of 15.25. Chase’s economy rate of 4.88 is also one of the best in the CPL this season and his strike rate of 18.75 isn’t bad either.

Having failed to make an impact in the Zouks�?previous two matches against the Knight Riders this year, Chase will be itching to have a say when it matters most.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SportsAdda

As expected, the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) matches have been action-packed and thrilling to watch. Batsmen have entertained with lusty blows and quick-fire knocks, while the bowlers have more than held their own and even got the better of the men with the bat in hand on a few occasions. With CPL 2020 now entering its second week of action, here are few players worth keeping an eye on between now and the end of the season.

Roston Chase

Roston Chase has been enjoying himself with both bat and ball in the 2020 CPL. The all-rounder from Barbados has scored two fifties in St Lucia Zouks�?first four matches of the season and is one of the reasons behind his team being in the current top two in the standings. Chase has also contributed with the ball with his 3-for-12 from four overs against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots proving to be crucial for their win in that match. Second on the leaderboard for most runs so far this season, Chase’s 66 in St Lucia Zouks�?last outing against Guyana Amazon Warriors turned out to be a Player of the Match performance and helped his team to another win.

Colin Munro

After missing out following an explosive start during league leaders Trinbago Knight Riders�?first match of the season, Colin Munro showed that he’s in fine form in their next two games.

The South Africa-born New Zealand international cricketer sits third in the current leaderboard for most runs in the CPL this season and will be looking to continue with his power-packed displays after an unbeaten 49 and a 30-ball 50 in his last two innings. Player of the Match in the Knight Riders�?last game, he’s hit more fours (13) than any other player and currently boasts the best average (58) among batsmen this season.

Darren Bravo

Another Trinbago Knight Riders batsman who is having a decent season and looks likely to continue in similar fashion is Darren Bravo. The elegant left-hand batsman gave us a glimpse of what he’s capable of during his unbeaten 36-ball 54 that helped the Knight Riders win their last game. A powerful striker of the ball who can tailor his game according to match situations, Darren is averaging 49 in CPL 2020 and has been making the opposition bowlers toil after getting his eye in. Only Jason Holder (8) and Glenn Phillips (7) have hit more maximums than his six sixes so far.

Scott Kuggeleijn

Among the wickets in all four of St Lucia Zouks�?games this season, Scott Kuggeleijn presently tops the wicket-taking charts in CPL 2020 with 10 scalps to his name. The right-arm fast-medium bowler was particularly impressive in his last two outings, taking a four and three-wicket hauls during wins for the Zouks. His spell of 4-for-33 during the Zouks�?win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots is only bettered by Keemo Paul in as far as best bowling displays this season go. Kuggeleijn’s strike-rate of 9.10 is the best by a bowler thus far.

Imran Tahir

The veteran spinner has always been a difficult player to keep out of action when the ball is in his hand and the South African legend continues to prove his worth to the team with his performances on the field. Among the wickets in each of Guyana Amazon Warriors�?matches this season, Imran Tahir is second in the leaderboard for most wickets, having accounted for eight scalps from four games this year. His best performance came in a losing effort when his 3-for-22 against the Zouks went in vain. Tahir, though, will be pleased with his own individual performances and will fancy his chance of picking up more wickets as the season progresses.

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Roston Chase succeeded where West Indies' fast bowlers had failed, by removing England opener Rory Burns on the fourth day of the first Test at Southampton on Saturday.

At lunch, England were 79-1 in their second innings, still 35 runs adrift of West Indies' first innings 318.

It seemed England would get through the morning session without losing a wicket.

But shortly before the interval, Burns gave his wicket away on 42 when he failed to get over a cut from part-time off-spinner Chase and was caught at backward point by John Campbell to end a stand of 72.

Dom Sibley was 31 not out.

Joe Denly, needing a big score to bolster a low Test average for a batsman of under 30, was unbeaten on one.

England resumed on 15-0 after Burns and Sibley had survived 10 testing overs late on Friday.

But in ideal sunny batting conditions on a placid pitch, the pair got through Saturday's opening spells from the Windies' quicks without much trouble.

Burns cover-drove Shannon Gabriel for Saturday's first boundary and followed that up by straight-driving Kemar Roach for another four.

West Indies were without a frontline spinner after omitting Rahkeem Cornwall.

But they could call upon Chase.

Although primarily a batsman, Chase took a Test-best 8-60 when West Indies beat England at his Barbados home ground last year en route to a 2-1 series win.

But having made a valuable 47 in West Indies' first innings of this match, he posed few problems until removing Burns in his 10th over.

Meanwhile, the towering Holder struck Sibley, then on 24, a sharp blow on the right elbow with a delivery that rose alarmingly from a good length.

West Indies had dominated the first three days of a match that marks international cricket's return from lockdown.

They dismissed England for 204, with Holder taking a Test-best 6-42.

West Indies then saw Kraigg Brathwaite make 65, the opener's first Test fifty in 22 innings, with Shane Dowrich adding a valuable 61.

Stand-in England skipper Ben Stokes, captaining the side in the absence of Joe Root, led the hosts' attack with 4-49.

Stokes, second to the number one-ranked Holder in the ICC's Test all-rounder rankings, had earlier top-scored with 43 in England's first innings after winning the toss.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Adrian Dennis

West Indies beat Afghanistan by 47 runs on Saturday to claim their first one-day series win in more than five years as their bowlers took control amid an invasion of moths.

Sheldon Cottrell, Roston Chase and Hayden Walsh each took three wickets as Kieron Pollard's side wrapped up the three-match series with a game to spare. Afghanistan have now lost 11 one-day internationals in a row.

Wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran hit 67 off 50 balls to put backbone in the West Indies innings.

Openers Shai Hope (43) and Evin Lewis (54) put on 98 for the first wicket but the batsmen then lost their way until Pooran's man-of-the-match fireworks that included three sixes and seven fours.

Pooran admitted it had been a "critical situation" when he came in. He helped take the score from 156-4 to 242-8.

The Afghanistan innings was overshadowed by tens of thousands of black moths and flies that took over the floodlit Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

Dark clouds of insects rose up every time the ball hit a boundary rope and several West Indies fielders wore masks. The moths caused problems for bowlers and batsmen, and Pollard twice spoke to the umpires about the nuisance.

Image: AFP / Rohit Umrao

"I've never played with so many flies around," said the West Indies captain after the game. "Health is very important, so something's got to be done about that." The third and final one-day game is on Monday but there are T20 games and a Test to follow -- all in the same stadium.

Afghanistan lost Javed Ahmed in the opening over before Hazratullah Zazai (23) and Rahmat Shah (33) steadied in the innings. But easy wickets then fell before Najibullah Zadran (56) and Mohammad Nabi (32) put on 66 for the sixth wicket, hitting the insects for six.

No one else could keep up the pace after their departure. Captain Rashid Khan scored only two as the eighth man in.

"We recovered well, but couldn't finish it off," said Rashid. "The senior players did well, but we lost wickets in clusters." Walsh took three of the last four wickets to fall.

Pollard said it had been a great relief to finally win a one-day series for the first time since August 2014 when Bangladesh were the victims.

"I want to go back inside and celebrate with the guys. Winning is a habit and we need to enjoy ourselves but we will be playing to win again the day after tomorrow."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Rohit Umrao

Shai Hope and Roston Chase struck half-centuries to power West Indies to a seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first one-day international in smog-hit Lucknow on Wednesday.

Chase and Hope put on a key 163-run stand for the third wicket as West Indies reached their target of 195 in 46.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Chase, who was promoted to bat at number four, made 94 before he was bowled by teenage spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman while opener Hope compiled an unbeaten 77.

Chase also took two wickets with his off-spin to help dismiss Afghanistan for 194 in their newly adopted home in Lucknow. India has been the home of the war-torn nation's cricket team since 2015.

The air in Lucknow was classed as "very unhealthy" for the match, as north India has been in the grip of severe seasonal pollution.

It was cricket as usual for the players though with Hope and Chase anchoring the chase after Evin Lewis was trapped lbw for seven and Shimron Hetmyer removed for three.

"Losing early wickets and not batting 50 overs is something that has been haunting us for a long time," said West Indies' new limited-overs skipper Kieron Pollard.

"Two guys showed the way - Hope and Chase. Both of them are class batsmen, kudos to them for batting well and getting us victory."

Freak run-out

The right-handed Chase missed out on what would have been his maiden ODI century. Nicholas Pooran hit the winning boundary.

Afghanistan batsmen Rahmat Shah and Ikram Alikhil hit half-centuries in a 111-run partnership before the rest of the batting crumbled in 45.2 overs.

Afghanistan lost openers Hazratullah Zazai and Javed Ahmadi with just 15 runs on the board before Shah (61) and Alikhil (58) steadied the innings.

Alikhil was run out in a freak manner after he left his crease to congratulate his partner who had completed his fifty with a single, but the ball was in wicketkeeper Hope's gloves and still in play.

Hope clipped off the bails and appealed and umpire Paul Reiffel referred it to the third umpire who gave it out much to the shock of the batsman as he believed the ball was dead.

Three balls later, Chase got Najibullah Zadran for nought.

Mohammed Nabi and Gulbadin Naib also fell cheaply and Afghanistan's last four wickets went for just four runs. 

Asghar Afghan made 35 before being run out by a direct hit from Jason Holder.

Chase returned figures of 2-31 while debutant Romario Shepherd and fellow quick Holder also claimed two wickets each.

"Looked like a 240-250 wicket. Had we bowled or fielded well, we could've defended it," Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan said.

"Ikram and Rahmat gave us a few opportunities, but we didn't capitalise. Credit to them. Every match is a lesson and we have to learn from it. We'll take the positives from here, looking to improve."

The second ODI is on Saturday.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Rohit Umrao

Roston Chase proved the unlikely bowling hero as the off-spinner destroyed England with career-best figures of eight for 60 as the West Indies crushed the visitors by 381 runs to win the first Test at Kensington Oval on Saturday.

Set the improbable target of 628 to win, the tourists slid to ignominious defeat in bright sunshine on the fourth day, losing their last six wickets for 31 runs either side of the tea interval to be dismissed for 246, ending a winning streak of five matches.

Randy Brooks/AFP

It was the largest margin of victory by the West Indies on home soil and third largest anywhere in their 91 years as a Test-playing nation.

Chase made the most of a fourth day pitch showing more signs of wear but also benefited from poor shot selection by an England side that looked shell-shocked from the events of the previous two days when they were routed for just 77 in their first innings.

They then saw the West Indies mass 415 for six declared in the second innings with captain Jason Holder starring with an unbeaten double-century and wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich contributing 116 not out in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 295.

It was left to stand-in wicketkeeper Shai Hope to complete the dismissal which sealed the result, stumping Sam Curran down the leg-side off Chase 40 minutes into the final session.

"To come back the way we have as a team and for me personally after the last few months is really satisfying," said Holder after victory was formalised. 

"This is just the first Test of three and there is a lot of work to be done. Achieving consistency continues to be the key."

Given England's dominance of Sri Lanka and their spinners in sub-continental conditions less than two months earlier, the manner of their capitulation would have been particularly surprising. 

Not that it mattered in the least to Chase who reaped considerable reward to eclipse his previous best Test innings figures of five for 121 against India in Jamaica in just his second Test in 2016.

'We can do lot better' 

If West Indies expectations in the victory push on the fourth morning were that pace would replicate the devastation of the first innings, the lanky 26-year-old changed the narrative when he ended opening batsman Rory Burns' quest for a maiden Test century off the final delivery before lunch.

Burns top-scored for England with 84.

Enjoying the conditions and England's indecisiveness, he added the wickets of England skipper Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, the off-spinning all-rounder suffering the indignity of a "pair" in the afternoon to end the tourists' hopes of taking the match into a fifth day  

Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who would have had the wicket of Root but was called for a no-ball when the batsman gloved a sharp lifter to Holder in the slips, made amends by dismissing Jonny Bairstow to a leg-side catch by Hope. 

Another pacer, Alzarri Joseph, had taken the first wicket of the day when he broke an opening partnership of 85 by having Keaton Jennings caught by Holder at third slip for 14.

In contrast to Holder's outstanding performances in front of his home crowd, which earned him the man of the match award, this has been a miserable experience for Root.

Reprieved by Gabriel's front foot indiscretion, he failed to take full advantage of the let-off, eventually wafting outside the off-stump at Chase to give Darren Bravo a straightforward catch at slip to depart for 22.

"We are a far better side than we have played in this match and we need to remember that going into the next match," said disappointed Root.

"We could have gone down a different route in team selection but the important factor is that we can do a lot better than this."

With Gabriel troubled by a foot injury and Chase settling into a wicket-taking groove, it was inevitable he would be persisted with in the final session and did not disappoint. 

Jos Buttler fell to a diving catch by John Campell at short mid-on, Shimron Hetmyer somehow held on to a sharp chance at short-leg to remove Ben Foakes and Kraigg Brathwaite judged a catch well on the midwicket boundary to get rid of Adil Rashid before Hope administered the final flourish behind the stumps.