Gudakesh Motie leads the Amazon Warriors to the 2025 CPL championship game

Gudakesh Motie led the Guyana Amazon Warriors' assault to the CPL 2025 final with four wickets. Motie was the best bowler on a day when bowlers were having a good time, regularly denting the St. Lucia Kings during their pursuit. Tymal Mills' late attack and Khary Pierre's half-century helped the Kings recover from their early setbacks, but they were ultimately defeated. In the second qualifier, they will now take on Trinbago Knight Riders.

The Kings were handicapped by the bad start to their pursuit, even if the target in front of them was not particularly large. In the first over, Dwaine Pretorius upended Tim Seifert's middle-stump, and in the second over, Johnson Charles left off Romario Shepherd. The Kings were then reduced to 12 for 3 in the third over after Pretorius removed Ackeem Auguste in the next over. The slide was only stopped up to the PowerPlay by Aaron Jones and Roston Chase.

With a double-wicket seventh over, Gudakesh Motie wrought havoc by dismissing Tim David and Chase off consecutive deliveries. The Kings were now down to 44 for 6 as Imran Tahir added to their misery by knocking back Jones' stumps in the following over. In the ninth over, Motie sent skipper David Wiese packing while still digging his heels. At the midway point, Kharry Pierre and Alzarri Joseph had pulled their team to 52 for 7, requiring 106 from the final 60 deliveries.

To increase the scoring rate, Pierre and Joseph tossed their bats around for three overs. However, Tahir returned to end the stand by catching the latter at long on. But Pierre kept going, reaching a 50 off of 28 balls and keeping his team in the hunt for a late robbery. But after he reached his half-century in the 17th over, Motie put an end to that notion by removing him one ball later.

The Warriors were then agonizingly near thanks to the unusual batting combination of Tabraiz Shamsi and Tymal Mills. The equation reached 14 off the last over after Shamsi hit a four off the first ball, Mills hit a six and a four against Shepherd, and he hammered Hassan Khan for two boundaries in the 18th over. However, Hassan put an end to the pursuit when he had Mills caught by Tahir at cover on the opening delivery of the 20th over.

The Kings' attack had feasted before the Warriors' bowlers celebrated. The Kings caused significant damage in the middle overs thanks to a team bowling effort, but Wiese took the lone wicket in the PowerPlay off the final ball of the period. In the eighth over, Wiese dismissed the dangerous Quentin Sampson, starting up for his team once more. The Warriors were reduced to 98 for 5 in 13 overs as Shamarh Brooks, Shimron Hetmyer, and Hassan were dismissed in 11 deliveries. Moeen Ali perished in the 16th over, making him the fourth middle-order batsman to return in single figures.

However, the Warriors were then bolstered by brief appearances from Shepherd (21 off 8) and Pretorius (17 off 8). The Warriors were bowled out in 19.5 overs after losing four wickets at the end, but those 29 deliveries gave them 50 runs, which turned out to be very important in the end.