Saint Lucia Kings' skipper Faf du Plessis led from the front with a blistering hundred but it was Guyana Amazon Warriors who came out on top with a six-wicket win in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022 encounter at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday.
Opting to bat first, Faf du Plessis scored a brilliant 103 off just 59 deliveries to help the Kings post 194/5 in their 20 overs.
Meanwhile, the Warriors rode on Shai Hope’s 59 runs off just 30 balls to chase down 195 in 19.2 overs, recording their highest successful chase in the CPL.
Saint Lucia Kings made as many as three changes to their playing XI as Mark Deyal, Ackeem Auguste and Jeavor Royal replaced Johnson Charles, Larry Edwards and Kesrick Williams. On the other hand, Guyana Amazon Warriors fielded the same playing XI.
The Kings got off to a challenging start as opening batter Mark Deyal perished (0) to pacer Romario Shepherd in the fifth ball of the match.
Following Mark Deyal’s dismissal, wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella joined du Plessis at the crease. Faf and Dickwella did not go into a shell and played some counter-attacking cricket as the duo powered Kings to their fifty in just 5.1 overs.
The big-hitting Faf du Plessis smashed Junior Sinclair for a boundary in the eighth over to bring up his half-century in just 29 balls.
At the other end, Dickwella played second fiddle to record Kings’ hundred in 10.4 overs.
The duo forged a dazzling 132-run stand for the second wicket before Dickwella departed to leg-spinner Imran Tahir for a 32-ball 36.
Having lost a set batter, left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan added more pressure on the Kings’ batting line-up as he quickly removed Adam Hose (1) to bring Warriors back into the game.
However, captain Faf du Plessis clobbered his compatriot Tahir for a six in the 16th over of the game to notch up his fourth T20 hundred and his second in the CPL.
In the 17th over of Kings’ innings, star all-rounder David Wiese slammed two sixes off Shakib before the Bangladesh all-rounder bagged his second wicket to remove the Namibia international for a 6-ball 12.
Warriors bowling all-rounder Odean Smith later cleaned up du Plessis in the next over as the former South Africa skipper departed for a brilliant 59-ball 103.
Roshon Primus (11 not out) and Roston Chase (17 not out) finished off Kings’ innings in some style as they smashed two fours and as many sixes in the last three overs to post 194/5 in their 20 overs.
In reply, Warriors opening batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Chandrapaul Hemraj got them off to a blitzkrieg start as they scored 18 runs in the first over of the chase.
The Kings were put under more pressure in the next few overs as the Warriors brought up their fifty in just 26 balls.
Afghanistan wicket-keeper batter Gurbaz took complete charge of the run-chase as he recorded his half-century in 23 balls.
With Warriors scoring 81 runs in just seven overs, Roston Chase provided the Kings the much needed breakthrough as he bowled Chandrapaul Hemraj (29) at the start of the eighth over.
On the other hand, Kings all-rounder Mark Deyal removed Gurbaz (52) and Shakib (0) in consecutive deliveries to put the Warriors on the backfoot.
In desperate need of a partnership, Shai Hope and captain Shimron Hetmyer stitched a 63-run stand before the latter was dismissed.
Shai Hope, however, continued his scintillating form as he registered back-to-back fifties, this time in 25 balls to guide the Warriors to a superb six-wicket victory.
Despite the loss, Saint Lucia Kings stay at the second spot in the CPL 2022 standings with eight points from nine matches while the Warriors move to fifth with seven points from eight games.
