The Trinbago Knight Riders won against the Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) in the twenty-sixth match of CPL 2024 at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago. Johnson Charles’s, Du Plessis, and Noor Ahmad’s remarkable performances led Saint Lucia Kings secure their position at the top with a huge 80-run victory.
Brian Lara Stadium pitch conditions tends to favor spinners because of its slow nature. Seam bowlers will have to bust out their cutters and slow ball for this ground. The average first innings total in T20I matches played at this venue is only 135.
Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bowl first. The new ball was given to Akeal Hosein, who played very cautiously and delivered a tight first over. King sent their season-best openers, Captain Faf du Plessis and Johnson Charles.
Du Plessis set the game momentum by playing diligently with a score of 43-ball 59, while Charles showed an aggressive batting performance, particularly targeting Waqar Salamkheil. Charles scored his 21st CPL fifty with three sixes in an over.
St Lucia King’s opening duo partnership led to 145-0 in less than 13 overs. They collectively scored around 110 in the first ten overs.
The run roit was stopped when Jayden Seales took the wicket of well-set Charles, who have score 89 off 40 deliveries with seven boundaries and eight sixes.
Kings sent their number three batsman, Tim Seifert, who had been in form recently. Along with Faf du Plessis, he marched ahead and ended up hitting a powerful 30 off 17 balls. Later, Riders bower Kieron Pollard picked four wickets at the backend of the innings, including du Plessis’s, as Kings lost five wickets for 38 runs. The Kings finished the innings with a competitive total of 218-6.
Hunting a cutthroat total of 219 – 6, the Riders had a rough start. St Lucia Kings fast bowler Alzarri Joseph played the new ball and removed riders opening batter Keacy Carty. A second shock for riders came in the powerplay when Roston Chase took a huge wicket of Nicholas Pooran.
Noor Ahmad’s double-wicket of the Rider’s middle batting lineup Akeal Hosein as well as of Tim David and Andre Russell in just two overs. The Knight Riders lost the rhythm of the match, later scoring a weak 56-6 around the halfway stage of the innings.
Riders Jason Roy’s counterattacked in the middle overs. Roy, at his best, scored a fast (41 off 29) and became the top-scorer of the innings. Along with Chris Jordan (27 off 24), he took Knight Riders past the 100-run mark.
But losing early wickets and not being able to score in the initial overs left the Riders helpless as they were bowled out for 138 inside 18 overs. The St Lucia Kings won the match by 80 runs and kept their top spot on the CPL 2024 standings.
