BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, September 17, 2026: Antigua and Barbuda Falcons turned the first CPL 2026 Qualifier into a mismatch of extraordinary proportions, bowling Guyana Amazon Warriors out for 76 before Rahkeem Cornwall launched a 16-ball assault that finished the chase in only 5.2 overs and sent the Falcons straight into the final.
Shadab Khan supplied the defining sequence with a hat-trick during figures of 4/16, while Sufyan Moqim was equally destructive with 4/13. Together, the two spinners took eight wickets for only 29 runs and reduced a Guyana batting lineup that had topped the league phase to little more than survival mode.
Then Cornwall removed even the possibility of a tense chase.
He smashed 49 from 16 deliveries, including three fours and six sixes, as Antigua raced to 77 for one with 88 balls remaining. Evin Lewis finished unbeaten on 23 from 13 balls, while Amir Jangoo struck the winning runs with four not out.
Story at a glance
Antigua vs Guyana CPL 2026 Qualifier 1: Match Summary
The playoff route and remaining fixtures are available through the official CPL match center, while the tournament’s official 2026 fixture announcement provides the wider schedule context.
Shadab and Moqim Turn a Qualifier Into a Collapse
Guyana’s innings did not collapse immediately.
Eight Wickets for 29 Runs: Antigua’s Spin Pair Own the Middle
Shadab and Moqim finished with almost interchangeable levels of destruction.
Guyana’s Late-Season Batting Problem Is Now Impossible to Ignore
Guyana finished first in the league phase with eight wins from 10 matches.
Romario Shepherd and Shamar Joseph Only Delayed the End
At 49 for nine, Guyana were in danger of finishing with a total that would barely resemble a T20 innings.
The nine-wicket victory sends Antigua directly into the CPL 2026 final. Guyana remain alive, but their route has become considerably harder: they must now face Jamaica Kingsmen in Qualifier 2 after Maaz Sadaqat’s 112 powered Jamaica past Barbados in the Eliminator.
Readers can follow the entire postseason through The Sports Encounter’s CPL 2026 hub and our wider cricket coverage.
Antigua vs Guyana CPL 2026 Qualifier 1: Match Summary
| Match Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Competition | Caribbean Premier League 2026 |
| Match | Qualifier 1 |
| Date | September 17, 2026 |
| Venue | Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Toss | Antigua and Barbuda Falcons won the toss and elected to field |
| Guyana Amazon Warriors | 76 all out in 15 overs |
| Antigua and Barbuda Falcons | 77/1 in 5.2 overs |
| Result | Antigua and Barbuda Falcons won by 9 wickets with 88 balls remaining |
| Player of the Match | Shadab Khan, 4/16 including a hat-trick |
| Other Bowling Star | Sufyan Moqim, 4/13 |
| Top Scorer | Rahkeem Cornwall, 49 from 16 balls |
| What It Means | Antigua advance to the CPL 2026 final; Guyana face Jamaica in Qualifier 2 |
The playoff route and remaining fixtures are available through the official CPL match center, while the tournament’s official 2026 fixture announcement provides the wider schedule context.
Shadab and Moqim Turn a Qualifier Into a Collapse
Guyana’s innings did not collapse immediately.
That is what makes what followed even more severe.
They reached 26 before Mavendra Dindyal became the first wicket and moved to 40 for one before Moqim removed Glenn Phillips for 16 from 15 balls.
At that stage, the innings was under pressure but still repairable.
Within 19 deliveries, it was effectively destroyed.
Mohammad Haris fell to Moqim for one at 42 for three. Shadab then entered the decisive passage of the match.
Shadab Khan’s Hat-Trick Broke Guyana in Three Balls
Shimron Hetmyer was first.
With Guyana 45 for three, Hetmyer attempted to find a way through the middle overs but picked out Hasan Nawaz from Shadab’s fourth delivery of the ninth over.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz arrived next and was trapped lbw first ball.
Quentin Sampson then faced the hat-trick delivery and was bowled.
Three balls. Three wickets. No runs added.
Guyana had moved from 45 for three to 45 for six before they had time to understand what had happened.
The Hat-Trick Worked Because Moqim Had Already Removed Guyana’s Escape Routes
The temptation is to isolate Shadab’s three deliveries as the whole story. They were the most spectacular part of the collapse, but Moqim made them even more damaging.
His earlier wickets of Phillips and Haris had already removed two batters capable of rebuilding the innings. After Shadab’s hat-trick, Moqim returned to dismiss Khary Pierre and Shai Hope.
Hope had survived the chaos longer than most and made 16 from 15 balls. His dismissal from the final ball of the 10th over left Guyana 49 for eight.
Shadab then bowled Imran Tahir for one at 49 for nine.
From 40 for one to 49 for nine, Guyana lost eight wickets for nine runs.
That sequence explains the match far better than the final total alone.
Eight Wickets for 29 Runs: Antigua’s Spin Pair Own the Middle
Shadab and Moqim finished with almost interchangeable levels of destruction.
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadab Khan | 4 | 16 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Sufyan Moqim | 4 | 13 | 4 | 3.25 |
Moqim actually conceded fewer runs and delivered 14 dot balls. Shadab supplied the more dramatic intervention through his hat-trick and was named Player of the Match.
Together they created a problem Guyana never solved: two contrasting spin options operating with enough wicket-taking threat that consolidation became almost impossible.
This was not Antigua discovering a weakness for the first time.
When the Falcons beat Guyana by 65 runs in the league stage, Shadab and Moqim had already combined to squeeze the Warriors after Alzarri Joseph caused early damage.
Guyana had previously shown the opposite side of this matchup when they crushed Antigua by seven wickets earlier in the tournament.
Qualifier 1 therefore settled the season series at the moment that mattered most.
Guyana’s Late-Season Batting Problem Is Now Impossible to Ignore
Guyana finished first in the league phase with eight wins from 10 matches.
The table was deserved.
The warning signs were also real.
The Sports Encounter highlighted them when Barbados bowled Guyana out for 99 in their final league match. That defeat came only days after Antigua dismissed the Warriors for 117.
Now the sequence reads:
- 117 all out against Antigua
- 99 all out against Barbados
- 76 all out against Antigua in Qualifier 1
Three low totals in the closing portion of the tournament cannot be dismissed as one bad evening.
The mechanism has also been similar.
Once Guyana lose enough early or middle-order wickets to expose the lower half, the innings can unravel quickly because the remaining batters are forced to attack before they have established themselves.
Our earlier CPL playoff race analysis focused heavily on Guyana’s strong position and games in hand. Their problem now is no longer qualification.
It is survival.
Romario Shepherd and Shamar Joseph Only Delayed the End
At 49 for nine, Guyana were in danger of finishing with a total that would barely resemble a T20 innings.
Romario Shepherd and Shamar Joseph at least prevented that.
Shepherd finished unbeaten on 14 from 13 balls, including Guyana’s only six of the innings. Joseph added seven from 15 before Shamar Springer removed him from the final ball of the 15th over.
The pair added 27 for the final wicket.
That partnership raised Guyana from 49 to 76, but it never changed the competitive reality of the match.
Antigua needed only 77.
Cornwall treated the target accordingly.
Rahkeem Cornwall Decides There Will Be No Small-Chase Drama
Targets below 100 can occasionally create strange games.
The chasing side knows it should win. The bowling team has nothing left to protect. A couple of early wickets can make a routine pursuit feel unnecessarily uncomfortable.
Cornwall removed that possibility in less than three overs.
He attacked from the beginning and took particular pleasure in anything he could free his arms against. His six sixes transformed a chase of 77 from a formality into a spectacle.
The Falcons reached 50 after only 17 deliveries.
Cornwall had scored 49 of those partnership runs himself.
Cornwall Falls One Run Short of the Fastest Kind of Statement
He was dismissed by Imran Tahir for 49 from 16 balls at 71 for one.
One more run would have given him one of the most eye-catching half-centuries of CPL 2026.
He did not need it.
His job was already complete.
Evin Lewis, who had watched Cornwall dominate most of the opening partnership, finished unbeaten on 23 from 13 balls with two fours and two sixes.
Jangoo added four from four balls and Antigua completed the chase at 77 for one.
The entire second innings lasted 32 balls.
Cornwall’s Assault Completes a Very Different Antigua Performance
One of the more impressive aspects of Antigua’s tournament has been the number of ways they have found to win.
Shadab previously produced one of the season’s most complete all-round performances when his unbeaten 52 from 20 balls carried the Falcons past Trinbago Knight Riders.
Against Guyana during the league stage, Antigua made 182 and defended it with pace and spin.
Qualifier 1 required almost no batting depth at all.
The bowlers decided the game first. Cornwall then made sure nobody had time to wonder whether Guyana could create a miracle with the ball.
Why Guyana Still Have a Route to the CPL 2026 Final
Qualifier 1 comes with a safety net.
Antigua advance directly to the final, while Guyana drop into Qualifier 2 rather than being eliminated. That format was established when the final CPL 2026 playoff bracket was confirmed.
Guyana’s next opponent will be Jamaica Kingsmen.
Jamaica arrive with a very different emotional profile after Sadaqat’s maiden T20 century powered them through the Eliminator. Antigua will watch that game knowing the winner must then face a Falcons side that has just produced its most ruthless performance of the tournament.
Guyana, meanwhile, have very little time to diagnose a batting problem that has now followed them through three of their last major tests.
Full Scorecard: Guyana Amazon Warriors 76 All Out
Guyana Amazon Warriors Batting
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Phillips | c Lewis b Sufyan Moqim | 16 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 106.66 |
| Mavendra Dindyal | c Allen b Joshua James | 11 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 61.11 |
| Shai Hope | lbw b Sufyan Moqim | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 106.66 |
| Mohammad Haris | c Jangoo b Sufyan Moqim | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Shimron Hetmyer | c Hasan Nawaz b Shadab Khan | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | lbw b Shadab Khan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Quentin Sampson | b Shadab Khan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Khary Pierre | b Sufyan Moqim | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Imran Tahir | b Shadab Khan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Romario Shepherd | not out | 14* | 13 | 1 | 1 | 107.69 |
| Shamar Joseph | c Lewis b Shamar Springer | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 46.66 |
| Extras | 5 byes, 2 wides | 7 | ||||
| Total | 15 overs | 76 all out | ||||
Fall of wickets: 26/1 (Dindyal, 4.2), 40/2 (Phillips, 7.1), 42/3 (Haris, 7.5), 45/4 (Hetmyer, 8.4), 45/5 (Mehidy, 8.5), 45/6 (Sampson, 8.6), 48/7 (Pierre, 9.4), 49/8 (Hope, 9.6), 49/9 (Tahir, 10.2), 76/10 (Shamar Joseph, 15.0).
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Allen | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Alzarri Joseph | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 6.33 |
| Joshua James | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 |
| Shadab Khan | 4 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Sufyan Moqim | 4 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 3.25 |
| Shamar Springer | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 8.00 |
Full Scorecard: Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 77/1
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons Batting
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahkeem Cornwall | c Hetmyer b Imran Tahir | 49 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 306.25 |
| Evin Lewis | not out | 23* | 13 | 2 | 2 | 176.92 |
| Amir Jangoo | not out | 4* | 4 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 1 no-ball | 1 | ||||
| Total | 5.2 overs | 77/1 | ||||
Did not bat: Hasan Nawaz, Moeen Ali, Shadab Khan, Fabian Allen, Joshua James, Sufyan Moqim, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Springer.
Fall of wicket: 71/1 (Cornwall, 4.2).
Guyana Amazon Warriors Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imran Tahir | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 10.00 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 1.2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7.50 |
| Khary Pierre | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 26.00 |
| Shamar Joseph | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 21.00 |
What Happens Next in CPL 2026?
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons now wait in the final.
Guyana Amazon Warriors must recover immediately for Qualifier 2 against Jamaica Kingsmen, whose confidence will be high after their nine-wicket Eliminator win over Barbados.
The winner of Guyana vs Jamaica will return to Kensington Oval to face Antigua for the CPL 2026 championship.
For Antigua, the biggest question is now whether this performance can be repeated when the trophy is on the line.
For Guyana, the question is more urgent.
Can the best team from the league phase rediscover its batting before one more collapse ends its season?
Continue the CPL 2026 Story
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won CPL 2026 Qualifier 1?
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons defeated Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets in Qualifier 1 at Kensington Oval.
Did Shadab Khan take a hat-trick?
Yes. Shadab dismissed Shimron Hetmyer, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Quentin Sampson from consecutive deliveries in the ninth over.
What were Shadab Khan’s bowling figures?
Shadab finished with 4/16 from four overs and was named Player of the Match.
How many wickets did Sufyan Moqim take?
Sufyan Moqim took four wickets for only 13 runs from four overs.
What did Guyana Amazon Warriors score?
Guyana were bowled out for 76 in exactly 15 overs.
How many runs did Rahkeem Cornwall score?
Cornwall smashed 49 from only 16 balls, hitting three fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 306.25.
How quickly did Antigua chase 77?
The Falcons reached 77 for one in 5.2 overs, completing the chase with 88 balls remaining.
Have Antigua and Barbuda Falcons qualified for the CPL 2026 final?
Yes. Winning Qualifier 1 sends Antigua directly into the CPL 2026 final.
Are Guyana Amazon Warriors eliminated?
No. Guyana receive a second opportunity because they finished in the top two. They will face Jamaica Kingsmen in Qualifier 2, with the winner advancing to the final.
Who will Antigua face in the CPL 2026 final?
Antigua will face the winner of Qualifier 2 between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Kingsmen.
Shadab Khan
- Shadab Khan’s Hat-Trick and Sufiyan Muqeem’s 4-for Destory Warriors as Falcons Muscle into CPL 2026 Final
- One Win From the CPL Final: Guyana and Antigua Settle Their 1-1 Split
- Shadab Khan and Alzarri Joseph Crush Guyana as Falcons Finish CPL 2026 League Stage in Style
- Pakistan’s Test Reset: 30 Players PCB Should Put in Its Red-Ball Plans
- Joshua James Leads Falcons to Thump Tridents, Take Top Spot in CPL 2026
