TKR look to 'dominate again,' face struggling Patriots in Tarouba

FOUR-TIME Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will aim to get back to winning ways when they host cellar-placed St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SKNP) from 7 pm at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba on September 22.

TKR are fourth on the six-team table with eight points from six matches, and they will be coming up against a Patriots team which is on an eight-game losing skid – their lone victory coming in a last-ball thriller against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in the first game of the 2024 season on August 29. For captain Kieron Pollard and the TKR team, they will want to rebound quickly after going down to the Falcons by six wickets in a controversial affair at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair on September 19. It was the Falcons’ second win over TKR this season and kept their own playoff hopes alive ahead of their September 21 meeting with reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors.

In the first meeting between TKR and SKNP this season, the former team romped to a 44-run on Independence day (August 31) after scoring a staggering 250 for four at Warner Park, St Kitts – the fourth-highest score in the tournament’s history.

Since then, TKR have offered up a mixed bag – losing twice to the Falcons and winning three close encounters against the St Lucia Kings, the Warriors and Barbados Royals. Barring their first game of the season versus SKNP, TKR’s victories have all come in the last over while chasing.

With the Kings and Royals already sealing their playoff places ahead of their second meeting in as many days on September 22, TKR will be looking to join the party as they continue their hunt for a fifth title.

The Trinidad and Tobago franchise, which won its inaugural title under the TT Red Steel banner in 2015, held a Decade of Champions gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on September 20 to celebrate ten years under the ownership of the Knight Riders Group.

During a speech at the gala dinner, allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who will be retiring from the CPL at the end of this year’s tournament, said the players are duty-bound to “make the nation proud again and to get back the CPL trophy where it belongs.”

At the Queen’s Park Oval on September 18, Bravo received a guard of honour from the TKR players who also paid tribute to him by donning his number 47 on their playing jerseys for the encounter.

“We need to social distance ourselves from the rest,” Bravo said.

In addition to his CPL titles with TT from the 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020 seasons, Bravo also tasted CPL success with the Patriots in 2021.

Bravo’s move to the Patriots was fuelled by his desire to take on a new challenge, and he returned to the TKR setup last year.

“For the two years I was with the Patriots, I just felt like I needed to see my flag dominate again...I needed to see the Knight Riders flag dominating again.”

TKR lost to the Amazon Warriors in last year’s final, but Bravo is confident 2024 will be their year.

“I’m looking forward to the end of this season, which I know is going to be a very good one,” he said.

“And Nicholas Pooran, you’re yet to win a CPL trophy. We’re going to do it for you. Not for me, but for you.”