Gudakesh Motie’s four-wicket performance defeated St Lucia Kings and propelled Guyana Amazon Warriors to the CPL 2025 final. It is their third title clash in a row, having won in 2023 and finished second to Kings last year.
The Amazon Warriors reached 157 owing to a lower-order attack from Dwaine Pretorius (17 off eight balls) and Romario Shepherd (21 off eight), who helped them score 41 runs in the final four overs. That still appeared to be a par score, with Kings having to chase under the lights. But Amazon Warriors’ disciplined bowling performance, with only two extras given, and Motie’s strikes reduced the opposition to 48 for 7, nearly a point of no return.
Chasing 158, Kings were rocked three times in the opening three overs, with Pretorius dismissing Tim Seifert and Ackeem Auguste, and Shepherd catching Johnson Charles. Roston Chase and Aaron Jones consolidated after that, and the Kings were 37 for 3 after the powerplay, not far behind the Amazon Warriors’ 45 for 1 after six overs.
When Motie was introduced, he slashed through the middle order.
Chase’s awkward heave across the line resulted in his dismissal. On the next ball, Tim David played totally down the wrong line and was out for a first-ball duck. Imran Tahir then got involved in the next over at Castle Jones.
Motie magic ✨
Two in Two for the Warriors 😱#CPL25 #CricketPlayedLouder #BiggestPartyInSport #SLKvGAW pic.twitter.com/1IIpeSwsl3
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 18, 2025
Kings’ captain David Wiese holed out to long-off in Motie’s second over, and their innings was truly in free fall. Khary Pierre’s maiden T20 half-century was important in helping them draw near to their target. After Kings were reduced to 85 for 8 at the start of the 14th over, Pierre and Tymal Mills each struck at least one boundary in the next four overs, giving Amazon Warriors a brief fright.
Pierre reached his fifty in 28 balls, bringing coach Daren Sammy to his feet in the hopes of a miracle. The hopes were dashed when Pierre fell on the following ball, but Mills kept Kings’ limited chances alive by taking 13 from Shepherd’s final over, the 19th of the innings.
Pierre’s stingy spell earlier in the evening had left the Amazon Warriors struggling to force the pace in the middle overs of their innings. While the left-arm spinner only scored 15 runs in the powerplay, Ben McDermott and Quentin Sampson combined for 29 runs off three non-Pierre overs. When Wiese instructed McDermott to chop, the scoring brakes were activated.
Shai Hope batted through the middle for 32 off 29 balls, but the remainder of the middle order finished in single digits. When Moeen Ali fell to leave Amazon Warriors 107 for 6, it appeared that the night belonged to the defending champions. However, a final flourish followed by a batting collapse meant they would have to upset the Trinbago Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 on Friday to have any chance of an encore.
India
