Saint Lucia Kings defeated St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to keep their Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) chances alive.
The Patriots won the toss and chose to field first, which looked to backfire when Johnson Charles and Faf Du Plessis put on a scorching opening combination, scoring 61 runs in the PowerPlay. However, similar to their performance against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Kings struggled in the latter stages of their innings, losing nine wickets for 75 runs.
Despite their stumbling finish, the Kings’ 161/9 still looked challenging, and the Patriots got off to a terrible start in the PowerPlay, losing three wickets for 48 runs.
They never recovered from that position, as the Kings swept them away with an outstanding field effort. Tim David set a Hero CPL record by catching five balls in the outfield. The Kings needed a superb performance in this must-win game, and they got off to a fast start, inspired by skipper Faf Du Plessis’ 60 runs off 35 balls.
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The innings almost crumbled for Kings
With the help of the in-form Johnson Charles, the two put up 86 for the first wicket, but after Charles fell, the Kings innings crumbled.
They were losing wickets in bunches, and when Alzarri Joseph went for a duck with the score at 124/7, it appeared like the Kings might not make it through the overs. However, late hitting from Matthew Forde guaranteed the Kings’ par score of 161.
Patriots in the second innings
Early in the Patriots’ comeback innings, they were in big danger. The Patriots were wobbling at the conclusion of the Powerplay as Matthew Forde burst through the top three. As their starting lineup struggled, the Patriots were unable to form any significant partnerships.
When Alzarri Joseph dismissed Darren Bravo for 20 to leave the Patriots on 81/6, he had removed the last of the recognised hitters, and the innings finished with the Patriots on 100 all out.
