Quentin Sampson's explosive unbeaten 37 off just 11 balls powered the Guyana Amazon Warriors to a hard-fought four-wicket victory over the St Lucia Kings at Providence Stadium in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Wednesday night.

The defeat brought the Kings' preliminary-round campaign to a close with eight points from four wins, leaving them in fourth place. They will now have to wait on results elsewhere to determine whether they can hold on to a playoff spot.

The Kings were dismantled by a brilliant spell from Warriors captain Imran Tahir, who claimed 5/17, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz made an immediate impact on his CPL debut for the Warriors with 3/13.

Opting to bat first, perhaps taking note of how the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons had attacked the Warriors the previous night, the Kings adopted a more cautious approach during the powerplay. Kamil Pooran, however, provided the early impetus with a positive start.

Dwaine Pretorius made the breakthrough for the Warriors, trapping Tim Seifert lbw, but the Kings still reached 51/1 at the end of the powerplay and appeared to have a clear plan for navigating the innings.

However, getting through the opening phase against the Warriors' spin attack has proved one of the toughest challenges of CPL 2026. With Mohammad Nabi having departed the attack, Miraz joined Tahir, and the transition was seamless.

Miraz picked up where Nabi had left off, as the pair ripped through the Kings' top and middle order, completely dismantling the platform they had built. Miraz got the ball rolling by dismissing John Campbell in his first CPL over for the Warriors, before Tahir went on a tear, claiming the prized wickets of Pooran and Roston Chase.

Overs 11 and 12 brought another wicket apiece for Miraz and Tahir as the Kings' innings unravelled in emphatic fashion. Obus Pienaar offered some late resistance, battling his way to an important 35 before falling to Romario Shepherd as the final wicket. By then, however, the Warriors' bowlers had blitzed through the Kings, who were bowled out for just 119.

In reply, the Warriors were determined to take their time and avoid falling victim to the demons of the pitch. Having been undone by a brilliant bowling display from the Falcons the previous night, they adopted a cautious approach and reached just 23/1 at the end of the powerplay.

The plan appeared to be working as the Warriors patiently paced their chase after the strategic timeout. But the Kings found a way back when their two Sri Lankan difference-makers, Charith Asalanka and Maheesh Theekshana, combined to dismiss Glenn Phillips and Shai Hope in consecutive overs.

Suddenly, the Kings had their tails up and renewed belief that they could keep their season alive. Chase then struck again, leaving the Warriors four wickets down and needing 48 runs from the final five overs.

A nervous tension swept through Providence Stadium as the Kings sensed a remarkable fightback. But Sampson had other ideas, exploding into action and launching Chase for two sixes and a four from three consecutive deliveries to release the pressure and swing the momentum firmly back in the Warriors' favour.

His astonishing knock completed the Warriors' comeback and secured a crucial victory. The result sends the Warriors back to the top of the CPL standings, with two matches still in hand. (Rewritten from CPL T20)