Saint Lucia Kings ride excellent all-round displays to beat the Patriots

Saint Lucia Kings began their Trinidad leg of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022 in style by beating Saint Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 49 runs. The Kings excelled in every department as they look to gather momentum for the business end of the tournament.

This was the Kings’ third victory in CPL 2022 and the second on the trot. Incidentally, they beat Patriots by 61 runs in their last outing at the Darren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet.

David Wiese, Kesrick Williams and Johnson Charles starred for the Kings during Saturday’s victory. 

Adam Hose, who joined the squad after the departure of Tim David, came straight into the starting XI. It was the only change from the team that beat the Patriots in the last game.

Put in to bat first, skipper Faf du Plessis continued his good form and got off to a blistering start and dictated the powerplay. He scored 41 in just 21 balls before being dismissed courtesy of a fine catch by Akila Dhananjaya in the fifth over. Rashid Khan sent Niroshan Dickwella back in the very next over but the Kings ended the powerplay with a healthy score of 60/2.

Johnson Charles, along with debutant Adam Hose, then took the Kings’ innings forward. At the ten-over mark, the Kings were cruising at 87/2.

The ever-dependable Johnson Charles brought on his third fifty of the tournament in style, with a maximum over long-on in the fifteenth over. Charles' fantastic innings of 61 off 41 balls saw him become the leading run-scorer in the CPL 2022.

The Kings finished their innings at 189/7, thanks to important contributions from Roston Chase, David Wiese and Roshon Primus.

With a sizable total to defend, the Kings’ bowlers suffocated the in-form Andre Fletcher before Alzarri Joseph knocked over his leg stump with a fine yorker. A fantastic direct hit from skipper du Plessis two balls later saw Evin Lewis walk back.

Having lost both their openers in the fifth over, Darren Bravo and Dewald Brevis attempted to rebuild the Patriots’ innings. It was a difficult task as the Kings’ bowlers kept it tight. The pressure helped David Wiese snap up Darren Bravo and Sherfane Rutherford in two consecutive balls.

With ten overs to go, the Kings were all over the Patriots, who needed 123 runs to win from that point. The Kings’ bowling continued to suffocate the Patriots and made it an uphill task for the Patriots even before the death overs began.

David Wiese, Roshon Primus and Kesrick Williams chipped away at the Patriots’ batting order until the end. Wiese, who picked up three wickets for just eight runs in his four overs, was the pick of the bowlers as the Kings comfortably won by 49 runs.

Brief Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 189/7 (Johnson Charles 61, Dwayne Bravo 2/26) beat Saint Kitts and Nevis Patriots 140 all out (Dewald Brewis 32, David Wiese 3/8) by 49 runs.