CPL 2022: Kings rule at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground with important victory

By Brandon Corlette in St Lucia

The St Lucia Kings ended the St Lucia leg of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on a high note, crushing the defending champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Match 15 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. An almost packed stadium danced away as the Kings won the match by 61 runs.

Captain cool, Faf du Plessis led the charge for Kings, scoring a scorching 60 while hometown hero Johnson Charles scored 41 to take Kings to 161-9 in 20 overs. In response, Patriots managed only 100 all out in 19 overs.
In pursuit of the target, Patriots lost the wicket of Andre Fletcher early to the impressive 20-year-old Barbadian Matthew Forde. Evin Lewis, who made 24 from nine, came and bashed three fours and two sixes, but Forde produced a beauty and found the outside edge at 28-2 in 2.5 overs.

South African Under-19 star Dewald Brevis slammed the quick Alzarri Joseph for a six, but Forde, bowling from the media centre end picked up his third wicket when Brevis (11) skied one to wide long-on at 39-3 in 4.1 overs.
Patriots had 48-3 in the powerplay with Sherfane Rutherford and Darren Bravo rebuilding. The duo found it difficult to score boundaries and Rutherford’s misery came to an end when he was bowled with a yorker from David Wiese for nine from 19 balls, at 66-4 after 9.3 overs.

Wickets continued to tumble for Patriots as the Kings’ bowling group kept the screws tight. After Lewis’s 24, Bravo made a 25-ball 20, but that was all she wrote for the Patriots. Forde ended with 3-19 while Wiese had three wickets and Roshan Primus had two wickets.
Earlier, the Patriots won the toss and opted to field first. They were without the services of Dwayne Bravo, who was ill, but the dangerous Rashid Khan came into the team. Kings had a blistering start, posting 61-0 in the eventful powerplay. The skipper, who was given a life while he was on 18 off a Jaden Carmichael no-ball, had made the Patriots paid the price.
The opening wicket stand was broken at 86 when Charles held out to Darren Bravo at long-on for 41 from 32 balls, an innings decorated with four boundaries and two sixes. At the half-way stage, Kings were 89-1 after 10 overs with du Plessis on 44 from 25 balls and Tim David, who was promoted to three, yet to score.

His experiment had failed as he was also caught by the younger Bravo for three at 95-2. Du Plessis was then dropped on 49, and he reached his fifty off the next ball. He took 31 balls to reach the milestone. After blazing a six and a four off Sheldon Cottrell, he held out to deep cover for a 35-ball 60. His top knock was laced with five sixes and three fours.

At 112-4 in 12.4 overs, things slide downhill for the Kings as wickets fell at regular intervals. They lost the last five wickets for 49 runs as the lower-middle order lacked intent. Kings ended on 161-9 in 20 overs. The Patriots’ collective bowling effort was led by Dwaine Pretorius, who claimed 3-37 from four overs, while Akila Dananjaya and Cottrell had two wickets each. The magician, Khan had 1-12 in four testing overs.
The teams will now travel to Trinidad and Tobago today for the Trinidad leg of the CPL. On Tuesday, September 13, one match is scheduled: TKR will play the table toppers, Barbados Royals at 19:00h.