Shadab hat-trick, Moqim four: two Pakistani spinners bowl Falcons into CPL final

Two Pakistani leg spinners took eight wickets between them on Friday to put Antigua and Barbuda Falcons into their first Caribbean Premier League final, bowling Guyana Amazon Warriors out for 76 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Shadab Khan took four, including the first hat-trick of his CPL career, all three with googlies. Sufyan Moqim took the other four. The Falcons then knocked off the target in 32 balls to win by nine wickets.

The hat-trick

Shadab's three in three were Shimron Hetmyer, caught at long on, Mehidy Hasan Miraz lbw, and Quentin Sampson bowled. He added Imran Tahir for one to finish with four.

Three googlies in a row against three different batters, one caught in the deep, one trapped in front, one through the gate, is about as complete a demonstration of the delivery as a leg spinner gets in a T20.

The collapse

Guyana were 34 for 1 after the powerplay and looked fine. They were 45 for 6 shortly afterwards.

Moqim did the rest of the damage, taking Glenn Phillips, Mohammad Haris, Khary Pierre and Shai Hope. Haris, the Peshawar wicketkeeper who has opened for Pakistan, was one of the Pakistanis on the losing side of this one.

Seventy six all out in a CPL qualifier, from a side that has reached this stage year after year, is a collapse rather than a bad day.

Thirty two balls

The chase barely counted as one. Rahkeem Cornwall hit 49 from 16 balls before Imran Tahir got him, and Evin Lewis finished it off. Nine wickets in hand, 32 balls used, and the Falcons were in a CPL final for the first time.

What it means for Pakistan

Shadab has spent the past two years in and out of the Pakistan side, with his bowling questioned more than his batting. A four-wicket haul with a hat-trick in a knockout match, in a tournament where the pitches do not usually reward wrist spin, is the kind of evidence that travels.

Moqim is the younger story. Left-arm wrist spin is rare, and four wickets in a qualifier will not have gone unnoticed by selectors with a T20 schedule to fill.

The final is at Kensington Oval on Sunday 20 September at 7pm in Barbados, which is 4am PKT on Monday 21 September. The Falcons wait on Qualifier 2, Guyana Amazon Warriors against the Kingsmen, which starts 7pm Friday in Barbados, or 4am PKT on Saturday 19 September.

Our fixture list for Pakistan and the tournaments Pakistani viewers follow, with start times in Pakistan time, is at /cricket.