Pakistan players stole the limelight as the Caribbean Premier League ended early on Monday morning with the crowning of Antigua and Barbuda Falcons as champions, who beat the Jamaica Kingsmen by eight wickets to secure their maiden title.

The Kingsmen, put into bat, were carried to 170-9 by a blistering 114 by Maaz Sadaqat, and restricted by a four wicket haul by Sufiyan Muqeem.

The Falcons raced to the title with ease, losing only two wickets in the chase as they breezed to 173-2.

Shadab Khan was named player of the tournament for his all-round efforts for the Falcons.

Maaz made a distinct statement of intent as he began proceedings by flicking Jayden Seales behind square for a six off the first ball of the match. He picked up three more boundaries off the bowler in the second over of his spell.

Maaz reached his 50 in the tenth over, on the back of some innovative shot-making, and reached the three-figures mark off just 49 balls with a single that followed two sixes.

The century was his second in three matches, having scored 112 off 49 balls in the Eliminator against the Barbados Tridents last week. It was also the culmination of his supreme form throughout the tournament, having scored 363 runs in seven matches at an average of 52, striking at almost 175.

The opener was, however, the only bright spot on an otherwise bleak batting scorecard for the Kingsmen, with Saim Ayub being the only other batter to reach double figures with his 22-ball-29.

Though the Kingsmen got off to a flying start, reaching the 100-run mark at the loss of just two wickets, the dismissal of Saim triggered a collapse.

Hassan Nawaz completed the catch as Sufiyan dismissed Saim off his second ball in an all-Pakistan affair, before Sufiyan struck again to dimiss Rovman Powell in the same over.

The Kingsmen collapsed from 110-2 to 113-6, as Shadab joined proceedings to trap Romaine Morris lbw for a duck, while Sufiyan returned to dismiss Hassan Khan in his next over.

Sufiyan then completed his four-wicket haul as his dismissal of Keemo Paul left the Kingsmen reeling at 127-7.

Maaz hauled the Kingsmen to a score of 170, but at the Kensington Oval, a ground where the side chasing has won seven out of the last 10 games, the total would presumably be difficult to defend.

Statement start

Rakheem Cornwall fortified that presumption by hitting Saim for two boundaries and two sixes to take 20 runs out of the target in five balls, before getting bowled off the last delivery of the opening over of the chase.

Evin Lewis fell for 38 to place the Falcons at 84-2, from where Amir Jangoo and Hassan Nawaz eased the team through with an 89-run partnership, featuring unbeaten scores of 57 and 47 respectively.

This was the Falcons’ third appearance in the CPL, resulting in their maiden title. The Kingsmen reached the final in their debut season, mirroring the franchise’s run as the Hyderabad Kingsmen in the PSL earlier this year, where they also played the final as first-time participants.

Sufiyan was named player of the match for his stunning spell of 4-14, the best bowling figures recorded in a CPL final.

“I have won two finals before because I played the PSL and the Emerging Asia Cup as well, and I won there too, so I am always a lucky charm,” he said after the match, adding that he dedicated is award to West Indies legend and the Falcons’ bowling coach Curtley Ambrose, who turns 63 today.

Sufiyan’s tournament was also exemplary, with the spinner taking 12 wickets in six matches at an economy of 6 and an average of just 9.

Shadab, despite missing the first three matches for the side, was named player of the tournament. He scored 132 runs across eight matches with the bat, at an average of 66 and a strike rate of 228. With the ball, he scalped 11 wickets including a hat-trick, at an average of 12.5 and an economy of under five.

“I think it’s because I was mentally free due to the role the team gave me,” said Shadab in his post-match interview, when asked what made his batting in the tournament successful.

“And when you are mentally free, you know you will face failure as well. You accept failure, but I think when you are free with that type of a mindset, most of the time you succeed. And I think the mindset was there.

“I was struggling for the last couple of years, so I needed that type of performance, which I got, and hopefully from here I get a proper rhythm and confidence,” he said, adding that a surgery last year had him out of play for six to eight months.

Though his efforts came in vain, Maaz became the first player to score a century in a CPL final, as well as the first Pakistani batter to score a century in the final of any T20 league worldwide.