Antigua & Barbuda Falcons registered a thrilling last-ball victory against the Jamaica Kingsmen on the opening night of CPL 2026 at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent. A chase of 167 went right down to the final ball with the Falcons needing two runs off the final ball. Shamar Springer flicked a full Hunain Shah delivery to long on where a fumble from Rovman Powell allowed the batters to run back for a second and clinch a dramatic two-wicket win.
The Falcons appeared to be cruising in the chase, needing 9 to win off 10 balls with five wickets in hand. Among the batters still available was Tajinder Dhillon, whose sprightly half-century and a 64-run partnership with Tim Robinson had put the chase in control. Against the run of play, Andre Russell struck with a full ball that found Dhillon’s edge and into Shayan Jahangir’s gloves. With Dhillon falling for a 37-ball 62, the Falcons were left with new batters to chase down the final few runs.
Even that should have been straightforward until Hunain, bowling the last over, dismissed Jahmar Hamilton and Usama Mir with the third and fourth deliveries. Alzarri Joseph could only muster a single off the fifth, leaving Springer to get two from the last, which he managed thanks to a little fielding benevolence.
Earlier in the evening, vital contributions from Reeza Hendricks (42 off 25) and Powell (47 off 37) helped the Jamaica Kingsmen post a competitive 167 after they were sent into bat. Chasing the target, the Falcons suffered an early setback as Evin Lewis was cleaned up by Keemo Paul for 6. Paul also dismissed the other opener Rahkeem Cornwall.
However, Robinson and Tajinder Dhillon turned the game around with a crucial third-wicket stand. But there were still twists to come. Just as the stand began to look threatening, Russell stepped up to break the partnership, also reaching the milestone of 100 CPL wickets in the process. The Falcons almost gave it away at the death before recovering to stutter over the line.
Brief scores: Jamaica Kingsmen 167/7 in 20 overs (Rovman Powell 47, Reeza Hendricks 42; Alzarri Joseph 3-34) lost to Antigua & Barbuda Falcons 168/8 in 20 overs (Tajinder Dhillon 62, Tim Robinson 40; Keemo Paul 3-29) by 2 wickets
