MATCH REPORT
Follow UsEvin Lewis scored a blistering 102 not out from 52 balls as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots beat Trinbago Knight Riders by eight wickets on Saturday to seal a semifinal spot in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2021).
The Patriots bowled brilliantly and then backed that up with a dominant batting display that saw them knock off the victory target with 32 balls to spare. The Knight Riders got off to a slow start reaching 28/2 by the end of Powerplay.
A fifty-run stand between Darren Bravo (22 off 22 balls) and Colin Munro (47 off 34 balls) steadied the ship and brought the Knight Riders back into the contest. It looked as if Knight Riders would set a sub-par total when Munro and Kieron Pollard were dismissed off successive balls by Jon-Russ Jaggesar, but some big hitting from Sunil Narine (33 not out off 18 balls) took his team to 159/7.
The Patriots innings got off to a flying start thanks to Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle (35 off 18 balls) who was promoted to open as a result of an injury to Devon Thomas. They reached 67/1 from their PowerPlay overs with Gayle the wicket to fall. Following Gayle's dismissal, Lewis reached his fifty from just 27 balls and added 85 runs with Ravi Bopara, who contributed just seven runs as the Patriots opener smashed 11 massive sixes and five boundaries.
This win moved the Patriots back to the top of the table and guaranteed them a space in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Pooran propels Warriors to win over Tallawahs
Captain Nicholas Pooran blitzed seven sixes and four boundaries in his unbeaten 39-ball 75 as Guyana Amazon Warriors strengthened their chances for a semifinal spot with a 46-run victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs.
The Amazon Warriors scored 169/6 in 20 overs after winning the toss. In reply the Tallawahs succumbed to a heavy defeat as Odean Smith (3-21) and Gudakesh Motie (3-25) combined to restrict them to 123 all out in 19.1 overs.
Guyana got their innings off to a steady start amassing 46 runs in the PowerPlay and lost openers Brandon King and Chandrapaul Hemraj. After Shimron Hetmyer (23 off 18 balls) ran himself out, Pooran and Shoaib Malik (23 off 29 balls) put together a partnership of 54 runs from 33 balls to place Guyana in a strong position with six overs to go.
The Tallawahs were able to keep pace with the required run rate in the early stages of their reply as Haider Ali (16 off 18 balls) and Kirk Mckenzie (28 off 26 balls) overcame the loss of Kennar Lewis to put on a 41-run partnership.
Odean Smith’s entry into the attack proved pivotal as his two wickets in two balls swung the pendulum back in Guyana’s favour. Smith also got rid of Andre Russell for a duck while Motie sent back Shamarh Brooks (21 off 20 balls), Carlo Brathwaite and Rovman Powell to ensure there was no chance for the Tallawahs.
The victory for the Amazon Warriors means the Tallawahs will now have to win the return game to make the semi-finals.
