Falcons climb to the top after Tridents botch 156-run chase

The Antigua and Barbuda Falcons climbed to the summit of the points table after withstanding a spirited chase and taking down the Barbados Tridents by 30 runs, with the hosts' reply collapsing dramatically from a position of strength.

The victory, their fourth in seven games, sent the Falcons to the top of the standings. It was a result built on a devastating late burst from skipper Moeen Ali, who accelerated at the death to swing the match decisively in his side's favour.

The game-turning final over

After the early loss of Rakheem Cornwall to the very first ball of the innings — bowled by Daniel Sams — the Falcons still enjoyed a productive Powerplay, with Amir Jangoo and Karima Gore adding 39 before wickets at regular intervals left them in trouble at 80/5 heading into the 14th over.

Moeen Ali and Shamar Springer struck a few crucial boundaries to keep the total ticking, but the Tridents controlled the scoring rate leading into the final three overs. Then came the turning point. The Falcons scored 49 runs from the final three overs, with Moeen bringing up his fifty with a hat-trick of sixes in the final over to close the innings on 155/5 — a total that ultimately proved more than enough.

A chase that evaporated in two overs

The Tridents looked firmly in control of the run chase, reaching 93/3 in the 14th over thanks to a 39-run stand between Rivaldo Clarke and Kevlon Anderson. But a catastrophic collapse followed, with the hosts sliding from 93/3 to 95/7 in just two overs.

Joshua James began the slide by dismissing Anderson and Sherfane Rutherford off successive deliveries, before Clarke fell in the next over and Gudakesh Motie followed two balls later. All four batters were dismissed attempting big shots as the pressure tightened.

Daniel Sams and Chris Green briefly threatened a recovery, but Sams became James' third victim in the 17th over before Sufyan Moqim claimed the final two wickets off successive deliveries in the following over to seal the Falcons' comfortable victory.

Earlier, Zachary Carter had gotten the Tridents' reply off to a flyer with two sixes and a four in the first two overs, while Quinton de Kock kept the tempo up before falling to Cornwall in the eighth over.

Brief Scores: Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 155/5 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 56*; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-32) beat Zero Barbados Tridents 125 all out in 18 overs (Rivaldo Clarke 27; Dancing Joshua James 3-18) by 30 runs.