St Lucia Kings demolish Patriots, move to 3rd in CPL

ST Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SKNP) were dealt a sixth straight loss in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season on September 12 when they were beaten by a five-wicket margin by St Lucia Kings at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Beausejour, St Lucia.

Batting first, SKNP made 173 for five, with captain Andre Fletcher top-scoring with 62 off 50 balls. South African middle-order batsman Rilee Rossouw cracked 50 off 31 balls with five sixes and he shared in a 70-run stand for the third wicket with his skipper.

West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph led the bowling attack for the Kings with figures of two for 38 as he grabbed the important scalps of Fletcher and Mikyle Louis (seven).

Entering the match in fifth spot on the six-team table, the hosts made little work of SKNP's total, with skipper Faf du Plessis (62 off 31 balls) and Man of the Match Johnson Charles (74 off 42 balls) emphatically batting their opponents out of the game with a 115-run partnership for the first wicket to help their team to a third win in five matches.

With Fletcher opting against using the trio of Anrich Nortje (one for 28) and spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Wanindu Hasaranga (two for 13) early in the power play, the Kings opening pair made a mas as they took pacer Johann Layne and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul to the cleaners.

Layne's two overs went for 30 runs, with Permaul, who was struck for consecutive sixes off his first two balls by du Plessis, conceding 39 runs from his two overs.

The Kings raced to 72 by the end of the power play, and they got to 113 by the ten-over mark before du Plessis was eventually dismissed by Josh Clarkson (two for 18) in the 11th over.

The St Lucian native Charles, a two-time T20 World Cup winner with the West Indies, continued where du Plessis left off and he got to his fifty off 33 balls. Charles hit seven sixes in his typically brutal style, and he also reached the 3,000-run landmark during his knock to become the first player in the tournament's history to do so.

Charles was bowled by Hasaranga as he tried to finish the game with an almighty heave in the 16th over, with Roston Chase clipping Nortje to the square leg boundary in the subsequent over to seal the resounding victory with 21 balls to spare.

With the win, the Kings (six points) leapfrogged Antigua and Barbuda Falcons and Trinbago Knight Riders (both four points) to move into third spot.

The Kings will host the Falcons on September 15, with the cellar-placed SKNP returning to action on September 17 when they face Barbados Royals at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Scores:

ST KITTS & NEVIS PATRIOTS: 173/5 from 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 62, Rilee Rossouw 50; Alzarri Joseph 2/38) vs ST LUCIA KINGS: 176/5 from 16.3 overs (Johnson Charles 74, Faf du Plessis 62; Wanindu Hasaranga 2/13, Josh Clarkson 2/18). Kings won by five wickets.