Antigua and Barbuda Falcons are champions of the Caribbean Premier League for the first time, after chasing down 171 to beat Jamaica Kingsmen by eight wickets with 20 balls to spare at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown on September 20. The victory, built around a match-winning bowling spell and an unbroken stand between two of the tournament’s in-form batters, capped the Falcons’ rise in only their third season in the competition.
Moqim’s four-for sets up the chase
Chasing a target set up by Jamaica Kingsmen’s 170 for 9, the Falcons were always favourites once left-arm spinner Sufyan Moqim ran through the middle order earlier in the evening, finishing with figures of 4 for 14 as Kingsmen lost regular wickets after a blistering start. Moqim was named Player of the Match for a spell that swung the contest despite Jamaica posting a competitive total on a used Kensington Oval surface.
Sadaqat’s lone stand could not save Kingsmen
Jamaica’s total was built almost single-handedly by Maaz Sadaqat, who blazed to 114 off just 58 balls, an innings that kept Kingsmen in the contest and pushed their total past 170 despite wickets falling around him. Alzarri Joseph chipped in with 2 for 27 for the Falcons, but it was Moqim’s spell either side of Sadaqat’s onslaught that limited the final total to a chaseable number rather than a match-winning one.
Jangoo and Nawaz complete a record chase
In reply, the Falcons lost early wickets before Amir Jangoo and Hasan Nawaz came together and simply refused to let Kingsmen back into the game. The pair put on an unbroken 89-run stand, with Jangoo finishing unbeaten on 57 and Nawaz on 47, steering their side home with eight wickets and 20 balls in hand. The chase is now recognised as the highest successful run chase in a CPL final, eclipsing previous finals that had generally been low-scoring, tightly fought affairs decided in the last over.
A breakout tournament for de Kock and Shadab
The final capped a CPL season defined by standout individual campaigns. Quinton de Kock finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 392 runs from 11 innings at an average of 43.56 and a strike rate above 143, claiming the Orange Cap, while Alzarri Joseph topped the wicket-takers’ chart to collect the Purple Cap. Jamaica Kingsmen’s Shadab was named Player of the Series after an all-round campaign of 132 runs and 11 wickets, a rare case of the individual award going to a player on the losing finalist rather than the champions.
Two readings of the Falcons’ rise
Within Caribbean cricket circles, the Falcons’ title is being read in different ways. Supporters of the franchise’s recruitment strategy point to the trust placed in overseas anchors like Jangoo and Nawaz to bat through an innings, arguing it gave the middle order the stability that flashier top-order hitting elsewhere in the tournament often lacked in pressure chases. Skeptics, however, note that the Falcons leaned heavily on imported talent to win the title, and argue that CPL franchises still need to do more to develop and retain young Caribbean batters who can anchor finals the way Jangoo did on the night, rather than relying primarily on recruits from outside the region.
What the title means going forward
For Antigua and Barbuda, the maiden CPL crown arrives as validation of a rebuild that began only three seasons ago, and it is likely to boost the profile of the franchise heading into the next auction cycle. For Jamaica Kingsmen, the final defeat will sting less than it might have given Sadaqat’s individual heroics and Shadab’s all-round form, both of which point to a squad capable of going one step further next year. CPL organisers will also take note of the record chase as evidence that Kensington Oval continues to produce competitive, high-scoring finals even on used pitches late in the tournament.
The 2026 edition of the CPL has been widely discussed as one of the tournament’s most competitive in years, with de Kock’s sustained form throughout the group stage and knockouts giving the league a genuine marquee overseas performer to headline its marketing, while Shadab’s all-round contributions for the runners-up demonstrated the depth of talent now filtering through Caribbean domestic and franchise systems. The final itself, played in front of a near-capacity Kensington Oval crowd, was framed by broadcasters as a showcase of the tournament’s growth since its inception, with the record chase adding a statistical highlight that pundits expect to be referenced in future promotional material for the competition.
Cricket West Indies officials have also pointed to the Falcons’ title as a boost for a region still working to translate strong domestic Twenty20 performances into consistent results at international level, arguing that finals of this quality help sustain interest in the format across the Caribbean during the always-crowded September sporting calendar.
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