CPL franchise Trinbago Knight Riders emerged victorious in all of their 12 fixtures of the competition to become the first team in T20 franchise history to do so, as they lifted their fourth CPL title.
Caribbean Premier League was the first big T20 league to resume post the forced COVID-19 break. The tournament was being held across two venues in Trinidad and Tobago and everyone was apprehensive about how things would unfold.
In the existent circumstances, several players failed to make it to the venue due to countries sealing their borders. With the best available personnel, the first ball of the tournament was bowled on August 18, 2020 in the opening encounter between Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors.
It was evident that TKR was the most balanced team in the league and one of the prime contenders for the title, but that they would have a spotless campaign was hardly expected.
In a rain-truncated fixture, TKR started off their campaign with a four-wicket victory and did not look back from there on. They held their lead in the points table throughout the competition, and as CPL 2020 reached its half-way stage, it was clear that the side would be one of the semi-finalists. More than the wins, it was the nonchalant manner of their victories which was striking.
At the centre of the action was Trinbago Knight Riders skipper Kieron Pollard, who also represents Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The West Indies white-ball captain was sensational with the bat, ball and in the leadership role.
He finished the league as the Player of the Tournament and was the third-highest run-scorer for his team, with 207 runs from seven innings at 51.75 and a strike rate upwards of 200. If that was not enough, Pollard pocketed figures of 4/30 in the final to end with 8 wickets at 18.87.
What made the victory all-the-more special was that Trinbago did not even require IPL stars Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo in the final. Lendl Simmons, another big IPL name, shone with an unbeaten 84-run hand and finished as the highest run-scorer for the tournament, to play his part in TKR's CPL win.
When the team finally stood at the podium, they had competed in 12 CPL matches and aced each of them. With their spotless record, the team completed the first-ever unbeaten season in franchise T20 history, all thanks to skipper Kieron Pollard.
