Moqim Four-for Powers Falcons to Maiden CPL Title Win

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons won their maiden Caribbean Premier League title, beating Jamaica Kingsmen by eight wickets with 20 balls remaining in the final at Bridgetown. Sufyan Moqim’s 4 for 14 restricted Kingsmen to 170 for 9 despite Maaz Sadaqat’s 114, before the Falcons completed the chase at 173 for 2 in 16.4 overs.

The victory made the Falcons champions in only their third season, while Jamaica Kingsmen’s first campaign ended just short of the title. The decisive difference came after Kingsmen had looked well placed for a much larger total, only for Moqim’s intervention to trigger a middle-order collapse.

Moqim changes the final after Sadaqat’s commanding hundred

Kingsmen’s innings had early setbacks. Jayden Seales removed Kirk McKenzie for a four-ball duck in the opening over, while Keacy Carty fell for 9 in the fourth. Sadaqat and Saim Ayub then rebuilt strongly, adding 80 for the third wicket as Kingsmen moved from 30 for 2 to 110 for 2.

Sadaqat was the dominant scorer throughout, finishing with 114 from 58 balls. His innings contained nine sixes and eight fours and accounted for more than half of the Kingsmen total. Ayub’s 29 was the only other double-digit contribution, while three of the top six were dismissed without scoring.

The momentum shifted sharply in the 12th over. Moqim had Ayub caught while attempting to slog to the on side, then saw Rovman Powell cut to backward point for a duck. Kingsmen slid from 110 for 2 to 113 for 6 in three overs, losing the platform created by Sadaqat and Ayub.

Sadaqat continued to attack, but wickets kept falling around him. He was dismissed from the penultimate ball of the innings, and Kingsmen closed on 170 for 9. Moqim’s four wickets came at a crucial stage, while Alzarri Joseph returned 2 for 27.

The total still required a purposeful Falcons chase, but Rahkeem Cornwall immediately reduced the scale of the task. He struck two fours and two sixes from Ayub’s opening over, taking 20 runs before he was bowled off the final delivery. Cornwall’s rapid start meant the Falcons were quickly ahead of the required rate.

Evin Lewis and Amir Jangoo maintained that advantage in a 64-run second-wicket partnership. Lewis made 38 before Vitel Lawes claimed the wicket, but by then the Falcons had already scored nearly half the required runs with more than 12 overs available.

Jangoo and Nawaz finish an emphatic chase

Jangoo and Hasan Nawaz ensured there would be no late opening for Kingsmen. Their unbroken third-wicket partnership added 89, taking the Falcons from a position of control to a title-clinching finish. The pair combined for seven fours and six sixes during the stand.

Jangoo ended unbeaten on 57, while Nawaz made an unbeaten 47. With four overs still remaining, the result was effectively settled, and Nawaz supplied the final flourish by hitting two sixes in the 17th over to complete the eight-wicket win.

Moqim was named Player of the Match for his 4 for 14, the spell that halted Kingsmen after Sadaqat’s exceptional hundred. Shadab Khan was Player of the Series after contributing 132 runs and 11 wickets across the tournament. For the Falcons, the final result delivered a first CPL trophy and a decisive end to their third season in the competition.