Republic Bank CPL 2024: St Lucia Kings thrash Trinbago Knight Riders
– through heroics of Johnson Charles and Noor Ahmad
Johnson Charles later dedicated St Lucia’s win to Julien Alfred
It was not the sort of result the Trinbago Knight Riders had been hoping for when they took on St Lucia Kings on their home turf at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, on Tuesday morning – the Republic Day of Trinidad & Tobago.
In the final week of preliminary matches in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (RBLCPL), the Trinbago Knight Riders found themselves falling short to the St Lucia Kings by a whopping 80 runs.
The Knight Riders, having won the toss, sent their visitors in to bat; and Johnson Charles let loose in a 145-run first-wicket partnership with Captain Faf du Plessis. His stay at the crease produced a plunder of 89 runs that were punctuated by seven fours and eight sixes, and he fell 11 short of another CPL century; but the damage had already been done.
Johnson Charles put on a show at the Brian Lara Academy
Faf du Plessis kept the party going after Charles’s departure with 59 runs off 43 deliveries; and Tim Seifert later hit a quickfire 30 from 17 deliveries while Shadrack Descartes added 10 runs from 4 balls to get the Kings to 218-6 in their 20 overs, to rewrite the highest total at the South Trinidad venue, which had just been set at 197 by the hosts two days prior.
Noor Ahmad, though a little expensive, claimed 3 crucial wickets
After Dwayne Bravo appeared to have suffered a groin injury while fielding, Captain Kieron Pollard stepped up to bowl a full complement, and he claimed 4-38 from those overs. Jayden Seales and Chris Jordan claimed the other two wickets.
Pollard’s 4-fer was crucial in restricting the Kings, who looked well on their way to a 230+ score, but little did the famed captain know that his side would not be up to the task. Almost instantly, the Knight Riders were off to a rocky start in the chase, losing Keacy Carty for two and Nicholas Pooran for 10.
Jason Roy was the only TKR batter to stand up to the Kings’ bowling
The St. Lucian bowlers continued to take regular wickets, leaving the home side reeling at 56-6 before a 61-run partnership between opener Jason Roy and Chris Jordan gave the Knight Riders hope; which was shattered when Roy departed for 41 from 29 in the 14th over — Shadrack Descartes pulling off the breakthrough with a stunning catch off his own bowling.
Chris Jordan eventually contributed 27 from 24, and Jayden Seales produced an unbeaten 16 from 10, but it was not enough for the home side. When it came down to nine wickets, DJ Bravo bravely went out to bat with his injury, but could only face two balls from David Wiese before throwing in the towel. As such, the Knight Riders managed a sore of only 138 in 17.5 overs.
St Lucia’s Captain Faf du Plessis followed Johnson Charles’s explosive lead
Noor Ahmad was the pick of the St. Lucian bowlers, claiming 3-39 from 4 overs, while David Wiese had returns of 2-27 from 3.5 overs. Every other Kings’ bowler each took one wicket.
The Kings have thus extended their lead atop the points table with 14 points from 9 games, 4 ahead of second-placed team Guyana Amazon Warriors, who have 10 points. However, defending champions Amazon will be looking to add to their points tally tomorrow night, when they take on the Barbados Royals at the Guyana National Stadium from 19:00h.
