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The grand finale of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has kicked off at Warner Park in St Kitts and it did not take much time to produce a moment of brilliance. As Saint Lucia Kings won the toss and opted to bat first, the opening pair of Andre Fletcher and Rahkeem Cornwall got their side to a quick start. After seeing Kings score 20 runs in the first 2 overs, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots' captain Dwayne Bravo introduced leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed into the attack.
Both the batsmen made their intentions very clear as they tried to put pressure back on the bowler with some aggressive batting. Unfortunately for the batting side, the attempt to counter-attack backfired for them.
Sheldon Cottrell produces magical moment in the final
On the 5th delivery of Ahmed's over, Andre Fletcher tried to clear the long-on boundary but skied the ball up in the air. With none of the fielders on boundary straight down the wicket, it looked like the ball would fall safely outside the reach of any fielders. But Sheldon Cottrell had other plans!
Cottrell, who was fielding at mid-on, ran backwards and kept his eyes on the ball throughout the process. Despite finding himself in a very tricky position, the 32-year-old kept his concentration and eventually clinched on to the catch.
Watch Cottrell's catch here:
Cottrell injures himself in the process
The left-arm pacer fell on his back in a very awkward manner and seemed to have injured himself in the process. He looked in some pain and left the field with the physio probably looking after him to determine the intensity of the injury. The fans would really be hoping to see Cottrell back in the field as soon as possible as the pacer is one of their senior-most bowlers, whose services will certainly be required especially in the death overs.
Cottrell had notably bowled only one over with the score of Kings reading 46/2 in 5 overs. Meanwhile, Dwayne Bravo's side faced another injury blow in the powerplay when their in-form batsman Evin Lewis also seemed to have hurt his left shoulder while fielding. One would just hope that the injury is not too serious and Lewis could bat for his side in the second innings.