The Caribbean Premier League is an annual T20 cricket tournament held in the Caribbean. After the successful IPL was inaugurated in 2008, many other nations got inspired by the idea. The first match was played in 2013, with the Trinbago Knight Riders being the most successful of the six teams. Jamaica Tallawahs is the second-most successful side and are the defending champions. Since the maiden season, the tournament has seen various standout moments, including celebrations, world records, sledging, and whatnot. Here are the top 10 moments in the CPL of all time.
1. Pollard Unhappy With Cornwall
This episode occurred in a match between the Barbados Tridents and St. Lucia Stars in 2017. Chasing a total of 196, the Lucia were decently placed at 54-1 at the end of the powerplay. Rahkeem Cornwall opened the inning and scored a brilliant 78. Unfortunately, he was hit on the chest by Kieran Pollard’s delivery in the 17th over. Afterward, the gigantic batter declared himself "retired out" when 49 were required from 17 balls. However, Pollard was unhappy with Cornwall’s decision, thinking that it was a strategic move, and started a verbal fight with the batter while he was walking off. The Tridents won the match by 29 runs.
2. Brain Drain For Shane
Shane Watson was a former Australian all-rounder who represented St Lucia Zouk’s in the 2016 edition of the CPL. The hilarious incident occurred in a match against the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Watson was going towards the pavilion, thinking that the innings had ended. There was still an over left in the innings, and the Aussie was utterly unaware. It was his partner, Darren Sammy, and the on-field official who informed him about the same.
3. Irfan Creates A World Record
Mohammad Irfan, the left-arm fast bowler from Pakistan, created a world record for the most economical spell in a T20 match. Playing for the Barbados Tridents (now Barbados Royals), the lanky bowler delivered a spell of four overs that involved three maidens and two wickets, conceding just one run against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots during the sixth edition of the event in 2018. Defending a mere total of 147, he bowled an unplayable delivery to Chris Gayle, resulting in his being caught behind on the first ball of the innings. He then got rid of Evin Lewis on the first ball of his next over. Although his team ended up on the losing side, an incredible effort from Irfan ensured a world record. He bowled 23 consecutive dot balls and conceded just a single on the last ball of his spell.
4. The Shamsi Shoe Store
Tabraiz Shamsi, the Chinese bowler from South Africa, celebrated a wicket by taking out his shoe and using it as a mobile phone. This happened in 2017, when I played for the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots against the Jamaica Tallawahs. What is now a trademark celebration for the bowler first took place in the CPL. We have seen some crazy celebrations from the players worldwide, but this was something new from Shamsi. T20 cricket is indeed the most entertaining format.
5. A Display Of Southpaw Dominance
Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle chased 129 in just seven overs. Yes, you read that right. The St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots were given 129 runs to pursue against the Barbados Tridents. The display of absolute carnage during the 2017 tournament season was indeed memorable. Everyone was blown away by the power-hitting of Lewis, who even outclassed his partner, the Universe boss. The former smashed eleven sixes all around the ground and finished unbeaten on 97 off just 32 balls, striking at 303.13. When just one run was required with 13 overs to spare, opposition skipper Kieran Pollard bowled a controversial no-ball, leaving Lewis stranded on 97 after an impeccable batting display.
6. The Notebook Sledge
The moment dates to 2017, when Kesrick Williams of the Jamaica Tallawahs dismissed Chadwick Walton of the Guyana Amazon Warriors and did the "notebook" celebration, which involves ticking off the batsman’s name he dismisses every time in an imaginary notebook that he takes out of his pocket. In the subsequent encounter between the two teams, it turned out to be a "tit-for-tat" situation for the bowler. During the fourth over of the Warriors innings, Williams conceded 26 runs, 19 of which came from Walton’s bat. After every boundary, Walton did the notebook celebration to annoy the bowler. Williams went for 46 runs in just the two overs he bowled, and the Warriors chased down the target of 150 in just 10.3 overs.
7. Middle Finger Controversy
This controversy involves two different franchise cricket leagues. Sohail Tanvir (Guyana Amazon Warriors) gave an ugly send-off, showing a "middle finger" to Ben Cutting (St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots), after dismissing him during the CPL 2018. Four years later, in the Pakistan Super League, Cutting did the same after he smashed Tanvir for 27 runs in an over. Both were involved in a verbal spat afterward. But in the next over, the Aussie was caught out by the left-arm bowler, who raised his middle finger towards the batter. What started in the CPL ended in the PSL. However, both players were fined 15 percent of their match fees for breaching a level 1 offence of the PSL code of conduct.
8. The Highest Run Chase
The 2019 edition of the CPL saw the highest run chase ever in the tournament’s history. The St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots chased down 242 against the Jamaica Tallawahs. The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle (116 off 62) and Chadwick Walton (73 off 36), helped their team reach a mammoth 241. The fireworks were expected, but no one thought of the target being chased down with seven balls to spare. Devon Thomas (71 0ff 40) and Evin Lewis (53 off 18) stitched an 85-run opening partnership. Laurie Evans scored 41 off 20, and then Fabian Allen, alongside Shamarah Brooks, chipped in with 37 and 27, respectively, of just 15 balls. A combined batting team performance helped the Patriots chase the highest total in CPL history.
9. Maiden Super Over
The game was Red Steel (Trinidad and Tobago) against the Guyana Warriors in the second edition of the CPL. Both teams ended their innings with 118 after the 20 overs. The Warriors set a target of 12 runs in the fourth over. Sunil Narine of the Guyana Warriors was given the responsibility to defend the total. In reply, he did very well, bowling his first-ever and only maiden super over in the history of cricket. Nicholas Pooran tried slamming him off the first four deliveries and got beaten on each ball before eventually getting out on the fifth ball. With 12 needed off of 1, Ross Taylor tried to slog it wildly but missed it completely. The record of a maiden super over is still unbroken.
10. The Umpire Says Goodbye To Sunil
The ongoing edition of the CPL saw the first red card given on the field. The unfortunate recipient of it was the famous mystery bowler Sunil Narine of the Trinbago Knight Riders. This came after the organisers of the CPL decided to penalise the bowling team for maintaining a slow over-rate. Playing against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, TBK was down to 10 men after being punished for a slow overrate. Narine bowled his full quota of overs with an impressive spell of 4-0-24-3 before being asked by the umpire to leave the field in the last over of the innings. This resulted in an 18-run last over, but it was not enough as the Knight Riders chased down 178 with six wickets left.
