Barbados Tridents vs Jamaica Kingsmen, Eliminator, Caribbean Premier League 2026 - CommentaryBBT vs JKM, Eliminator, Caribbean Premier League 2026 - Commentary

So the Kingsmen are into Qualifier 2 and await the winner of Qualifier 1. That's it from the CPL for today. Have a good day. Bye bye.

Powell (2/2): [On Andre Russell's condition] Yeah, yeah, for sure, man. He's good. He was also fit for us to bat tonight. He's just a little bit gingered. Obviously Andre is closer to 40 than he is to 30, so he's somebody that we have to keep on taking care of. But tonight he was special. We talked about getting early wickets, something we haven't really done for us all season. But you know, in a playoff game, we know that our big players have to stand up, and show in the ball to him tonight and tell him, get me one or two in the powerplay, and he did exactly that. [On the message to the team ahead of Qualifier 2] I think it's a case of us replicating our performance. You know tonight was good. We didn't field as well as we wanted, so that is also something for us to work on. If we can also as a group improve 10-15 percent, I'm very big on that. If we can keep on improving as a group, now is the time for us to rack up those very good performances.

Rovman Powell (1/2): [On the run-chase and how special it was] Yeah, it was very special. It's something we sat down as a team and discussed, for top two, top three batters can give us a very good start, a very good platform. Then it allowed myself, Andre, Hassan and those power-hitters with a platform being laid to come out and express ourselves a little bit more. [On the bowling effort that restricted Barbados Tridents to 144] At the halfway stage, we were very, very pleased. You know, for the start of the day, getting us 144 to chase, we would have taken it. Having said that, even though they were four wickets down in the powerplay. But credit has to be given to Quinny and their captain Chris Green. I think they batted really well. [On why Vitel Lawes bowled only one over] I think it's a case of we have realized some patterns with our team. It's a case of myself also learning as a captain. I want to give him a lot of confidence, a lot of know-how to go out and bowl. But you know, we have seen a trend where if he bowl back-to-back overs, he generally gets scored. The last game he played, he bowled two, three good overs, and then in the last over they take him down just a bit, so it's a case of me just trying to make some matches as a captain and see how best I can come up with 20 overs instead of having somebody who haven't bowled a over, bowl the last over.

Green (3/3): [On his 2026 CPL season and his message to the players] Yeah, look, I think it was a tale of two halves. We started nicely, lost our way in the middle, and then came back here and really impressive to win four out of five at home, secure qualification. I think first and foremost I've got to thank the people of Barbados for getting right behind us. We certainly noticed it in the five home games and then tonight walking around the streets everyone was right behind us, so that was really special. Hopefully we entertained everyone. Hopefully we put on a good enough show. And I think there's so much for my group to learn and to be proud of throughout this season, both individually and as a collective as well. You know, we unfortunately went out in a way where we didn't quite play our best cricket, but like I said, you've got to tip the hat when the opposition blows you away, and tonight they did that.

Green (2/3): [On his bowling and whether he could have done anything differently] Felt like everything we threw at Maaz tonight he found an answer. Look, the ball from the get-go there was soaking wet. I know once Samsy, that first ball went over the top and came back, I caught it in slip and it was wet. So conditions suited them, and it's been the case all the way here. We won five tosses in a row, we bowled first, and they had the better of the conditions tonight and they utilised it and they blew us away. So yeah, I don't think we were too far away. Perhaps we were bowling a little bit too quick as spinners, but with a wet ball it's tough to be brave and bowl a little bit slower with it slipping out. [On whether there was an opportunity to use more seam in the first half of the innings] I mean, the first over he (Sams) bowled went for 12. We felt like with the wet ball I had to front-load spin as much as possible to try and get some grip out of that surface. Two left-handers at strike, myself and Ghazanfar are two experienced off-spinners, and we've got to try and come up with answers to that. And sometimes, like I said, you've got to tip the cap. He scored 100 in a playoff, and what an incredible knock. Yeah, there's not much else I have to say.

Chris Green (1/3): [On assessing 144 batting first] Yeah, look, I think we scrapped and fought to a decent total. Conditions were tough. We were blown away a little bit in the powerplay. I think we lost four wickets in the powerplay. Anytime you do that, it's a tough ask. So to get to the total we got to there, mid-140s, very happy with our efforts. We got to something that was defendable, and unfortunately the dew factor came in and started to capper us away. [On Sadaqat's incredible century] I mean, what an incredible knock to score 100. Yeah, I think it's important that the dew doesn't take away how impressive that knock was. His just striking ability from the get-go, his ability to find the boundary. He was the only one that was able to do that consistently tonight on that wicket. So yeah, full credit goes to Jamaica, and for us, I'm really proud of our efforts. We didn't really give up there. We were just blown away by both the powerplay when we were batting and then the powerplay when we were bowling as well.

Maaz Sadaqat | Player of the Match: [On becoming the youngest player in CPL history to score a century] First of all, I would like to thank Almighty for helping me get this hundred. It was my first hundred. And secondly, yes, it means a lot, as you know, but I have always believed in myself. The way everyone backed me, especially our management, they backed me throughout, so I think all the credit goes to them. [On his approach to the innings, where he scored nine fours and eight sixes at a strike-rate of 228] Yes, absolutely. The way cricket is played these days, strike-rate matters a lot, especially in T20 cricket. So I followed my natural game and tried to stick to that, and I got the result. [On the role Kirk McKenzie played at the other end] I told him that my shots were coming off, so I asked him to give me as much strike as possible so that I could take advantage of it. Every shot of mine was coming off at that time, so I kept telling him not to try to hit a four and just give me the strike so that I could hit the boundaries. [On the highest partnership for any wicket in this year's CPL and the importance of building it at Kensington Oval] It matters a lot because building a partnership on this wicket was very important. The ball was turning, so if you lose wickets back-to-back, it becomes very difficult. So our effort was to take the partnership as long as possible, because that would make things easier for us. [On his form going into this stage of the tournament] I’m feeling very good because in the beginning I was trying to follow my natural game, but the shots weren’t coming off in the way I wanted. Then Allah gave me confidence, I did well in the last match as well, and I did well in this match too. So, I hope to continue doing well in the same way going forward.

22:34 Local Time, 02:34 GMT, 08:04 IST: The Kingsmen knock the Tridents out. Chris Green's team won both their games against the Kingsmen this season but tonight it was all about the Maaz Sadaqat show. What a time and occasion to get your 1st T20 100. He started off with a bang and just destroyed the bowling attack with his strokeplay. Kirk McKenzie made 22 off 34 which underlines what Sadaqat did. His innings was carnage as he showed his brute power and unorthodox style. No bowler from the Tridents had any answer and in the end the chase of 144 was a cakewalk as the job was completed with almost 6 overs to spare. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

Daniel Sams to Maaz Sadaqat, THATS OUT!! Caught&Bowled!!