CPL 2026 Kicks Off: A Last-Ball Thriller and a Narine Masterclass
- Caleb
- 08 Aug 2026
The CPL has officially kicked off its 2026 season. Trinbago Knight Riders, last season's winners, and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons both got off to winning starts, while newcomers Jamaica Kingsmen and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots — who missed the playoffs last time around — suffered season-opening losses.
Jamaica Kingsmen vs Antigua and Barbuda Falcons
Jamaica Kingsmen posted 167/7, and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons chased it down with two wickets to spare, 168/8.
The Kingsmen got off to a flying start off the back of Reeza Hendricks, who clubbed 42 runs from 25 balls in the powerplay. But this great powerplay led into a sluggish performance in the middle overs (9.00 down to 6.22 an over), where the Kingsmen will look back at the overs they lost the game — not the missed field by Rovman Powell on the final ball of the match. The Kingsmen proved they have some pop, but their lack of pop in the middle overs cost them the game.
On the flip side, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons struggled in the powerplay and death overs but found their legs in the middle overs (7.67 up to 8.78 an over). The game felt like it was going only one way after the explosion of runs in the middle overs, but quickly it turned into a nail-biter of a game that was decided by the last ball in the last over.
Powerplay vs Middle vs Death
Run rate by phase for both teams. Kingsmen's shape flips from flying start to stall to late surge; Falcons run the opposite pattern in the powerplay and middle, before wickets (not runs) undo them at the death.
Both teams have a lot of great takeaways from the game, as well as clear spots where improvement is needed.
Game 2: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots vs Trinbago Knight Riders
Rain, rain, go away — well, it didn't. Rain played a large part in this game, making the start late as well as calling a halt to proceedings, leaving it to be decided by the D/L method.
But this game was not as close as the opening game, as Patriots batters struggled to make good contact, giving up 45.0% of their balls to being dot balls. A lot of these would come from spinner Sunil Narine, who proved once again why he is the best T20 bowler there is, giving up only 7 runs from the 4 overs he bowled — 18 of his 24 balls were dots, three-quarters of everything he sent down.
But only calling out Patriots batters would be unfair, as this game's batters clearly struggled because of the rain. The Knight Riders were only averaging 6.27 runs, which is not even 1 run better than the Patriots' 5.45. So while the Patriots limped their way to 20 overs, the Knight Riders crawled just marginally faster and sealed the win in a rain-reduced 15-over chase via the D/L method.
Both Innings, Well Off the Pace
Cumulative run rate at each stage of the innings, against last season's CPL average (8.55 RPO). Both teams spent almost the entire match below it — TKR was briefly above it in the first two overs before settling in, and Patriots never got within a run of it the whole innings.
