Pooran, Hales Star as Knight Riders Storm into CPL 2025 Final

Pooran, Hales Star as Knight Riders Storm into CPL 2025 Final

Trinbago Knight Riders booked their place in the CPL 2025 final with a dominant 56-run win over St Lucia Kings in Qualifier 2 at Providence. Half-centuries from Nicholas Pooran and Alex Hales set up a commanding total of 194 for 4, before Usman Tariq and Sunil Narine ripped through Kings’ batting to seal a comfortable win.

The Knight Riders will now face Guyana Amazon Warriors in Sunday’s final.

Pooran’s Fire, Hales’ Anchor, Russell’s Finish

After being asked to bat first, Knight Riders had a quiet start, scoring just 25 runs in the first four overs and losing Colin Munro early. But Nicholas Pooran quickly shifted gears, smashing 14 runs in boundaries before launching an assault in the fifth and sixth overs. He took Alzarri Joseph for a six over extra cover and then hammered David Wiese for 6, 4, 4, 4 in a single over.

Pooran raced to a 31-ball half-century but was bowled by Roston Chase for exactly 50 immediately after reaching the landmark. At that point, Knight Riders were 89 for 2 after 11 overs, with the game still evenly poised.

Alex Hales, who had been quiet, gradually accelerated. From 15 off 21 balls, he moved to a 41-ball fifty, launching a series of late boundaries, including three sixes in the final overs. Kieron Pollard provided a quickfire 35, striking four sixes before falling to Joseph. Andre Russell then provided the final flourish, hammering Wiese for 6, 6, 4, 6 in the last over to lift the total to 194. He finished with 28 off 12 balls before being run out on the final delivery, while Hales remained unbeaten on 58.

Tariq, Narine Seal the Deal

Chasing 195, St Lucia Kings started positively, thanks to Tim Seifert’s brisk 57. He had scored 32 of Kings’ first 38 runs and kept the scoreboard ticking. However, his opening partner Johnson Charles struggled at the other end, scoring a sluggish 17 off 23 balls before falling to Pollard in the ninth over.

Seifert brought up his half-century in the 12th over, but Kings’ chase unraveled soon after. Usman Tariq turned the game on its head in the 13th over, dismissing Seifert and Ackeem Auguste off consecutive deliveries. From 98 for 2, Kings slumped to 138 for 8.

Sunil Narine then took over, removing Tim David, Aaron Jones, and David Wiese in a tidy spell, finishing with 3 for 18. Tariq returned to claim two more wickets — Chase and Tymal Mills — to end with figures of 4 for 35.

Kings lost six wickets for just 40 runs in the final stretch, never recovering from the middle-order collapse.

Final Bound

The win sends Trinbago Knight Riders into their record-extending sixth CPL final, where they will take on Guyana Amazon Warriors, who beat them in Qualifier 1 earlier this week. For St Lucia Kings, it was a disappointing end to a campaign that promised much but fell short in crunch moments.

Match Summary:

  • Trinbago Knight Riders 194/4 in 20 overs (Hales 58*, Pooran 50, Russell 28; Chase 1-16)

  • St Lucia Kings 138/8 in 20 overs (Seifert 57; Tariq 4-35, Narine 3-18)

  • Result: Knight Riders won by 56 runs

  • Knight Riders advance to the final vs Guyana Amazon Warriors