Shadab Khan's hat-trick sends Falcons to CPL 2026 final

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons became the first team to seal their spot in the final of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026 with a stunning nine-wicket victory against the Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown in Barbados. And Shadab Khan’s hat-trick in the first innings was the shinning star.

Antigua’s captain, Moeen Ali, won the toss and opted to bowl first on a surface against a strong Imran Tahir-led side. They brought back Rahkeem Cornwall and Shamar Springer in the playing eleven and picked up three wickets inside the first eight overs of the innings before Shadab Khan came into the attack.

Relive Shadab Khan's match-winning hat-trick

The first three deliveries of the ninth over costed two singles. Shadab picked up his first wicket of the evening in the form of Shimron Hetmyer for just two runs. The left-handed holed out trying to play a big shot. He shimmied down the ground to loft and got too close to the pitch of the ball as the bat twisted at the point of impact before Hasan Nawaz grabbed a simple catch at long-off.

Watch Shadab Khan's hat-trick here-

On the very next delivery, he trapped Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a golden duck. It was a flighted ball that spun in to beat the inside edge. The ball-tracking confirmed that it would gone on to clip the leg stump as Mehidy departed.

On his hat-trick ball, Shadab went for a flighted googly on a full length. Quentin Sampson got forward to drive and was beaten. The ball spun back and crashed into the stumps as Shadab started his celebrations.

How Antigua and Barbuda Falcons booked their spot in the CPL 2026 final

Guyana Amazon Warriors were bundled out for just 76 runs in 15 overs as only four batters converted their starts into double figures. Shadab ended with superb figures of 4/16 in four overs while his Pakistan countryman, Sufyan Moqim, returned with figures of 4/13 in his four overs.

Antigua completed the chase inside the powerplay by nine wickets as Rahkeem Cornwall smacked a fine knock of 49 runs off 16 balls at a strike rate of 306.25, shouldering on three boundaries and six over boundaries. Barbados qualified to the final of the league on September 20 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Brief Scores: Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 77/1 (Rahkeem Cornwall 49, Imran Tahir 1/20) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 76 (Glenn Phillips 16, Sufiyan Moqim 4/13, Shadab Khan 4/16) by 9-wickets.