CPL 2023: ‘Royal’ Brandon King leads Tallawahs to victory over Patriots

– Guyana Amazon Warriors to play Patriots today

By Brandon Corlette

Jamaica Tallawahs have cruised to their second victory of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (RBL CPL).
A regal innings of 67 from captain Brandon King enabled the Tallawahs to defeat home team St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by eight wickets in match seven, played at Warner Park in St Kitts.
Tallawahs began their chase of 157 in royal fashion, with King playing some classy shots. He struck the first ball for four, and took Sheldon Cottrell to the cleaners in harvesting 27 runs from two overs.

At the other end, new West Indies Test player Kirk McKenzie was graceful in his strokeplay, scoring 23 even as he was troubled by the pace of Oshane Thomas. The opening stand between McKenzie and King yielded 52 runs in 33 balls.
At the end of the powerplay, Tallawahs had scored 54-1. Thomas bowled a sharp first over which took a wicket and cost only two runs.

Shamarh Brooks and King then stabilized the innings. King was seemingly in a hurry, as he scored his fifty in 22 balls, his fastest ever in T20s. The right-hander slammed four sixes and seven fours in his 67 from 33 balls. He was dropped on the 32nd ball he faced, and Dominic Drakes eventually went through his defence.
King and Brooks added 69 runs for the second wicket, which broke the Patriots’ spirit. Brooks ended unbeaten on 38 as Tallawahs ended victorious on 157-2 in 16.3 overs. Thomas was the pick of the Patriots bowlers with 1-25 from his quota.
Earlier, Jamaica won the toss and opted to bowl first. On a surface which extracted bounce and was two-paced, Evin Lewis and Andre Fletcher added 24 runs for the opening wicket. Lewis was dismissed by the veteran Pakistani Mohmmad Amir for nine, and Fletcher followed shortly.

Salman Irshad, who hails from Pakistan, rocked the Patriots’ top order, picking up three wickets in one over. He removed Fletcher for 23, then found himself on a hat trick when he sent Corbin Bosch packing for a golden duck. Retired Indian star Ambati Rayudu also failed to trouble the scores, as he departed for a duck. Irshad extracted bounce and pace at Warner Park, and Patriots were in trouble at 47-4 after the powerplay.
Rutherford and Joshua Da Silva then attempted to rebuild the innings, and after 10 overs, Patriots were 72-4. Two balls after the interval, Rutherford slashed a wide Nicholson Gordon delivery into deep backward point and departed for a promising 16 from 15 balls.

Da Silva played some good shots, as did South African George Linde (14), but Tallawahs’ solid bowling line-up kept chipping away at the resistance with wickets. The West Indies Test keeper Da Silva played some delightful shots, but he failed to get on top of the bowling. He made 36 from 32 balls in an innings that had three fours and two sixes.
Dominic Drakes propped up the Patriots with a late flourish, scoring an unbeaten 29 to take Patriots to 156-9 in their allotted 20 overs.
The right-arm quick Irshad ended with 4-27 in his four overs. He was supported by his fellow Pakistani Amir, who impressed with 3-20 from four overs.
The 2023 CPL continues today, Thursday August 24, with Guyana Amazon Warriors taking on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots from 19:00h local time at Warner Park in St Kitts.