On Friday, August 30, the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) 2024 championship match was held at Tarouba, Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium. Barbados Royals defeated Trinbago Knight Riders by four wickets to win the title for the second time in a row.
In the second over, captain Hayley Matthews got her team off to a great start by dismissing Deandra Dottin, her opposite number. In the third over, Chinelle Henry made an appearance by getting rid of Jemimah Rodrigues.
After winning the toss and choosing to field first, the defending champions Barbados Royals entered the summit match with three wins and one loss.
After the third over ended with the Knights at 10/2, they made the bold decision to surprise everyone by moving Shikha Pandey up to No. 5. The Indian bowler and Jannillea Glasgow formed a cautious partnership in the middle over 43 runs off 49 balls. But in the 17th over, the Dottin’s women collapsed to 75/8 from 53/2.
Veteran players Anisa Mohammed and Kycia Knight put up some effort to keep their team from being bowled out. At the conclusion of their 20 overs, Trinbago was at 93/8 thanks to their 18-run partnership off 19 balls.
Knights make inroads into the wickets column, but Athapaththu is unbeatable.
Alongside Matthews, Chamari Athapaththu came out swinging and scored 48 runs during the powerplay. Samara Ramnath the wicket of Matthews in the eighth over, giving the Knights their first breakthrough.
Before becoming Ramnath’s second victim, Qiana Joseph stepped to the crease and she and Athapaththu added eighteen runs together. Alleyne, who had ended with 4/21 with the ball, was unable to duplicate the heroics with the bat and lost her life after only a few runs.
Athapaththu dropped anchor at the other end as Laura Harris reached 15 off six balls with two fours and one six. The Australian batsman was removed, and Rashada Williams and Henry followed suit shortly after, leaving the Royals at 87/6 in the fourteenth over. But with just seven runs needed off of 38 balls and a set Athapaththu at the bat, the pursuing squad was always the favoured to win.
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Along with Afy Fletcher, the Sri Lankan captain dutifully scored the final runs in the final ball of the 15th over to lead her team to victory. Athapaththu smashed seven fours throughout her knock, staying undefeated at 39 off 47 balls.
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