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Antigua and Barbuda Falcons began their Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026 campaign with a thrilling two-wicket victory over newcomers Jamaica Kingsmen. Chasing 168 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, the Falcons appeared to be cruising for much of their innings before a dramatic finish took the game down to the final delivery.
Tajinder Singh was the standout batter for the Falcons, scoring 62 off 37 balls on his CPL debut. Earlier, Alzarri Joseph led the bowling attack with three wickets to earn the Player of the Match award.
Alzarri Joseph leads Falcons’ bowling effort
After being put into bat, Jamaica Kingsmen made a promising start during the Powerplay, reaching 54/1. Reeza Hendricks provided most of the early impetus, smashing 42 from just 25 deliveries. However, the Kingsmen struggled to maintain the momentum after Hendricks was dismissed in the eighth over. They managed only 59 runs between the seventh and 16th overs, allowing the Falcons to tighten their grip on the innings.
Rovman Powell top-scored with 47 off 37 balls, while Andre Russell contributed only eight from 10 deliveries. Late cameos from Keemo Paul, who scored 16 off six balls, and Hassan Khan helped Jamaica reach a competitive 167/7 in their 20 overs. Joseph was the pick of the Falcons bowlers, finishing with 3/34.
Tajinder Singh anchors Falcons’ successful chase
The Falcons’ chase suffered an early setback when Paul dismissed Evin Lewis and Rahkeem Cornwall inside the first seven overs. However, Tim Robinson and Tajinder quickly shifted the momentum back in their team’s favour. Robinson scored a valuable 40, while he and Tajinder combined for a 64-run partnership for the third wicket. Tajinder continued to find the boundaries and kept the required rate under control as the Falcons moved closer to the target.
With three overs remaining, Antigua and Barbuda needed only 20 runs with six wickets in hand. However, the chase suddenly became tense as the Falcons struggled to score freely and lost wickets at regular intervals. The Falcons required six runs from the final over to complete the chase. Hunain Shah gave Jamaica renewed hope by dismissing Jahmar Hamilton and Usama Mir from the third and fourth deliveries.
With two runs needed from the final ball, Hunain produced a yorker that Shamar Springer managed to dig out towards long-on. Powell failed to complete the stop, allowing Springer and the Falcons to scramble two runs and seal victory. Tajinder’s 62 ultimately proved crucial as Antigua and Barbuda Falcons finished on 168/8 from 20 overs, securing two points from their opening CPL 2026 fixture.
WHAT A THRILLER! 💥🔥
Antigua & Barbuda Falcons pull off a nail-biting win against Jamaica Kingsmen, sealing victory by 2 wickets 🏏#CPL #AntiguaAndBarbudaFalcons pic.twitter.com/cqAEdZiGuH
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) August 8, 2026
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: crickettimes.com
