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The ninth day of the 2023 CPL featured a doubleheader clash. The first match was played between the St Lucia Kings and the Trinibago Knight Riders, while the second game saw the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots lock horns with the Barbados Royals.
Both games were packed with thrilling entertainment. The day entirely belonged to the batters who piled up a lot of runs and took the bowlers to the cleaners.
The St Lucia Kings completed their second victory of their tournament, beating the Trinbago Knight Riders by a whopping 54 runs. Sikandar Raza and Faf Du Plessis made significant contributions with the ball to steer the Kings to a comfortable victory. On the other hand, the Knight Riders still continue to search for their elusive maiden victory in this tournament.
The Barbados Royals also registered a crushing victory against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and beat them by six wickets. They completed a record chase in a very short space of time courtesy of a dazzling innings from Rovamn Powell who blasted 67 (29) to power the Royals to an emphatic victory.
It was Barbados Royals' maiden victory this season while St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have suffered three consecutive defeats.
Following the end of today’s fixtures, the Saint Lucia Kings are at the top with two wins out of five games. They also boast a decent-looking NRR of +1.617. The Jamaica Tallawahs are ranked second in the points table with two wins out of three games. Their NRR stands at 1.125.
The Guyana Amazo Warriors and the Barbados Royals are placed third and fourth, respectively. They are the other two teams to have managed to secure a win.
The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and the Trinbago Knight Riders are currently winless at the moment. They are ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the points table.
The Trinibago Knight Riders fall cheaply against the St Lucia Kings
The St Lucia Kings got off to a rollicking start in the first innings, scoring 48/0 in the first six overs. Faf Du Plessis did the bulk of the scoring and terrorized the Knight Riders' bowlers with his delightful stroke play. He scored an impressive 57 off 36 balls, including eight fours and one six. His partner Johson Charles got off to a very sedated start and took his own time to get into the zone. He too played some big shots in the end before getting dismissed.
Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers for the Trinbago Knight Riders, picking up two important wickets of Charles and Du Plessis. Although he leaked a lot of runs to his liking, he did manage to get the important breakthroughs that stemmed the flow of runs during the middle overs.
The partnership between Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sikandar Raza slowed the momentum for St Lucia and they eventually fell 20-30 runs short. Dwayne Bravo, on the other hand, was also magnificent with the ball going at just over 7.5 RPO with 2 wickets to his name. Akeal Hosein was economical too but finished wicketless.
After posting a decent target of 168, Mark Deyal started off well but the Trinbago Knight Riders kept losing wickets at the other end. Kieron Pollard was at his vintage best and smashed 34 off 15 balls. He stitched together a 41-run partnership with Deyal. However, he would have been very disappointed with the way his batters got out.
None of the other batters could get going and lost wickets at regular intervals. Pierre was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets. Sikandar Raza was eventually adjudged Player of the Match for his 32 off 23 balls, and he also took two wickets.
Rovman Powell’s blitzkrieg demolishes St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in an unbelievable fashion
The Patriots hit the ground running in the first innings as Andre Fletcher raced out the blocks by scoring a gritty 51 (38). But slowly but surely, things going downhill. They couldn’t really cope with the spin, as the run rate eased off from the third over onwards.
Fletcher’s 51 was handy, but he would have ideally hoped for a much better score. Rutherford followed suit as he fell just at the wrong time after reaching 28. They looked to be in trouble, but a terrific cameo of 38 off 12 from Bosch, including the last over fireworks has left them with a strong total of 197 on the board.
Roman Powell’s captaincy again came to the fore, with pretty much every move he made after the third over working perfectly - until the last over. Cornwall got the crucial early breakthrough before Qais Ahmed really tied the game up with 2-16 from his compliment of overs. The seamers were rotated well around him. Young and McCoy were both good before their poor last overs. A poor death bowling display ruined a lot of that good work though, with Young conceding a whopping 33 off the five balls he bowled in that last over - the most expensive in CPL history.
In response, Rakeem Cornwall's contribution gave the Royals an electrifying start. The start he gave early on in the innings helped Barbados Royals set the tone. He scored a lightning cameo of 38 (15) which involved 3 fours and 4 sixes. He was well supported by Kyle Mayers down at the other end who took his time to change gears. He later joined the party following the dismissal of Cornwall by scoring a rapid 31 (17).
Following Mayer's departure, the scoring rate dipped momentarily when Athanaze and Holder were batting as the boundaries dried up. But all of that changed when Rovman Powell arrived at the crease and took stock of the situation. He scored a blistering knock of 67 (29) which came at an astronomical strike rate of 231.
The Patiorts's bowlers did not have a clue as they kept disappearing one after the other. Eventually, it was the skipper who finished it off in style as he completed one of the most entertaining chases in the history of CPL.
