Saint Lucia Kings outplayed the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the first qualifying match of CPL 2024 with a 15-run (DLS) victory at Providence ground, Guyana. An outstanding performance by the opening duo of Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis led the Kings to the finals after three years.
SLK won the toss and chose to bat first. The opening dua Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis came to the crease. Right from the start, Charles exploded on GAW bowler Pretorius and smashed a total score of 79 off just 45 balls.
The crowd once again witnessed the iconic batting performance by Captain du Plessis, who played aggressively and made 57 off 36 balls with five fours and three sixes.
In the eighth over, the partnership between the duo led SLK to cross 100 runs. GAW Moeen Ali takes the first wicket of Charles, who was caught by Keemo Paul.
SLK sends third batsman Rostan Chase to the ground. While GAW tries to restrict Du Plessis. Eventually, after a few boundaries, SLK’s captain lost his wicket to Gurbaz.
Rostan Chase tries to score more runs in the bag of SLK’s overall total and smashes 18 off 17 deliveries but momentarily loses his wicket to GAW fast bowler Gurbaz. An outstanding bowling performance by GAW fast bowler Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who took back-to-back wickets.
Tim Serfiet, playing cautiously, scored 18 runs off 11 deliveries. David Wiese (13* off 7) also played useful hands as Moeen Ali’s efforts with the ball (2/24 off 4) weren’t enough for Ali to stop Saint Lucia Kings. The Kings finished at a competitive score of 198/5 and took one step toward the finals.
With rain affecting the match, GAW to hunt down a target of 122 runs in 13 overs through the DLS method.
GAW sent Keemo Paul and Rahmanullah Gurbaz(WK), who started at a slow pace because of the rain. Gurbaz quickly tried to pick the pace and smashed 24 off 18 deliveries while hitting three boundaries. But he loses his wicket to the SLK fast bowler Wiese.
Keemo Paul, who has started to settle himself, scoring 14 off 15 balls, instantly lost his wicket to SLK bowler Alzarri Joseph. This was the second shock for Guyana Amazon Warriors who now was under great pressure.
GAW sent batsman Shai Hope to the ground, and he smashed a four in and began his innings, picking up the lost momentum. He played very aggressively and smashed a total of 27 runs off 22 balls. But the favors were odd, and he hit a wrong stroke and loses his wicket to SLK Roston Chase.
Saint Lucia Kings had full control by the end of the 10th ever. Guyana Amazon Warriors could only manage to score a total of 106/4 in 13 overs, falling short by 15 runs.
