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Caribbean Premier League 2024: Charles puts Kings back on track

by CricDirect Staff & CPL T20 Friday 13 September 2024

Man of the match, Johnson Charles of St Lucia Kings

©CPL T20 via Getty Images

Saint Lucia Kings regained momentum in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a commanding five-wicket victory over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Finishing the chase with 21 balls to spare, the Kings revitalized their season, while the Patriots suffered their sixth straight defeat.

Match Summary

Saint Lucia Kings vs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Match 14

Saint Lucia Kings 176/5 (16.3 ov)

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 173/5 (20 ov)

Saint Lucia Kings won by 5 wickets

SCORECARD

Match Analysis

After starting with a win, the Patriots have struggled and this evening’s defeat at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet leaves them relying on other results to go their way if they are to have a chance of progression.

Kings captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and inserted the opposition hoping that the ball would skid on and be easier to hit in the second half of the match. The short square boundaries in Gros Islet saw 30 sixes hit in the last match at the ground but the Patriots struggled to clear the ropes in their innings – not until Rilee Rossouw plundered fives sixes did their batting card catch light and gain any real momentum. Captain Andre Fletcher top scoring with 62 off 50 balls to anchor the Patriots to 173/5.

It wasn’t enough. Du Plessis was brutal in the PowerPlay for the Kings, hitting five fours and the same number of sixes to get the chase off to a breezy start from which his side never looked back. Fellow opener Johnson Charles played a fluent and match winning hand with 74 off 42 balls, falling to Hasaranga only when the target was in single digits.

“It was a very good innings. I would have loved to finish off for the team. Opening with Faf has been good. We feed off each other’s energy,” Player of the Match Charles reflected after the match whilst praising the vociferous support of the Kings fans.

“It feels lovely, with the crowd supporting us, even when we lost two. A huge thank you to our supporters.”

It was a difficult night for the Patriots. Captain Andre Fletcher rued his own strike rate after the game had gone. “We started well in the powerplay and I thought we slowed down a bit in the middle. Our strike rate could have been better, especially me. But Rilee played a good knock. We have three more games left. We don’t have a choice but to go out there and play cricket. We have to find a way to win. We have been on the losing side for six games and we have to try our best.”

Match Stats

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Fall of wickets: 1-51 (Evin Lewis - 6.2 ov), 2-72 (Kyle Mayers - 9.1 ov), 3-142 (Andre Fletcher - 16.6 ov), 4-156 (Rilee Rossouw - 18.3 ov), 5-169 (Mikyle Louis - 19.3 ov)

Saint Lucia Kings Fall of wickets: 1-115 (Faf du Plessis - 10.4 ov), 2-129 (Tim Seifert - 12.1 ov), 3-161 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa - 14.3 ov), 4-169 (Johnson Charles - 15.1 ov), 5-171 (Sadrack Descartes - 15.6 ov)