The 2021 HERO Caribbean Premier League will have a first time champion as the Saint Lucia Kings will face off against the Saint Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the final on Wednesday at the Warner Park Stadium. The Kings produced a stellar team effort in their semi-final against the defending champsTrinbago Knight Riders, and would now be in high spirits heading into the final game of the CPL season.
Saint Lucia Kings were losing finalists in the previous edition of the competition, but this time around with a reinvigorated squad high on confidence, would set their sights on that elusive CPL title.
Head-to-head record
Saint Lucia Kings | Saint Kitts & Nevis Patriots |
7 wins | 5 wins |
The Kings have a superior head-to-head record when compared with the Patriots, and also won on both occasions against Dwayne Bravo’s side in the league stages of the competition. Nevertheless, this record wouldn’t count for much heading into the final of a tournament, as both sides have got so far on merit and would be pumped to get over the line in this all important game.
Watch out for
Mark Deyal made his mark in that semi-final for the Saint Lucia Kings against the champions. The southpaw's knock of 78 ended up being the difference on the day as the Kings exacted their revenge over the Knight Riders. A clean striker of the ball who possesses the ability to go on the offensive right from the get go, Deyal would be one of the key men for the Saint Lucia Kings come the final.
David Wiese came in as a replacement player but has now made himself almost indispensable off the back of those solid performances. The Namibian International claimed his second five-wicket haul of the 2021 CPL season in that game. A proven wicket-taker in the shortest format, with his ability to get those cameos in the death overs make Wiese an all round threat for the opposition.
Opponent Corner
The Patriots have two of the stalwarts of T20 cricket in their roster in Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. With the collective experience of over 1000 T20 games between them, the duo would pose a formidable challenge to the Kings on Finals day. Apart from that, Evin Lewis has been in superb form in this competition. The southpaw is one of the three batsmen to get a ton in the 2021 CPL season, and also has three fifties to his name.
On the bowling front, the Patriots have emerging pacer Dominic Drakes, who has picked up 15 wickets in the competition. Apart from that, they have the experience of Fawad Ahmed and Jon-Russ Jaggesar who have been economical throughout the competition.
Probable XI: Andre Fletcher (wk), Faf Du Plessis (c), Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Tim David, David Wiese, Kadeem Alleyne, Jeavor Royal, Keemo Paul, Wahab Riaz, Alzarri Joseph.
The Kings wouldn't want to tweak their winning combination from the semi-finals, but if skipper Faf Du Plessis is fit again, he would slot in instead of Rahkeem Cornwall.
NOTE:The aforementioned line-up is an educated guess at best, and the final decision rests with the captain and the team management depending on various external factors.
