GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia, Aug 12, CMC – Jason Holder’s bowling heroics and Andre Fletcher’s crucial knock with the bat helped the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots get off the mark in this year’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) via a comfortable five wicket win over the St Lucia Kings here on Wednesday.
Kamil Pooran and Jewel Andrew’s half centuries gave the home side a promising start, but Holder strangled the Kings’ batters at the death with his medium pace to restrict them to 155 for eight in their 20 overs after they chose to bat first at the Daren Sammy National Stadium.
Player-of-the-Match Fletcher then guided his team to victory with an unbeaten 48 off 41 balls, as the Patriots cruised to 156 for five with 14 balls remaining to record their first win in their second match of the tournament.
It looked like the Patriots would have been chasing a much bigger total when Pooran and Andrew were at the crease during an 82-run partnership, that helped the Kings recover from losing the early wickets of Andries Gous and Ackeem Auguste to be 94 for two in the 11th over.
But once Pooran was run out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Wanindu Hasaranga at deep backward point for an electrifying 54 off 30 balls, that included seven fours and three sixes, the Kings lost their momentum.
Andrew and Charith Asalanka added 39 runs for the fourth wicket before Holder returned for his second spell to dismiss Asalanka for 14 and Andrew for a well-played 58 off 42 balls – in the space of four balls – to see the Kings slide to 134 for five.
Together with fellow pacers Saurabh Netravalkar and Obed McCoy, they conceded just 20 runs from their last four overs, as the Kings who were eyeing a total in the region of 180 fell well short.
Holder led the way with 3-20, while Netravalkar took 3-32.
The Patriots got off to a blazing start thanks to openers Fletcher and Johnson Charles and always looked in control of the contest.
Charles hit Shadley van Schalkwyk for two massive sixes in the first over of the innings and then blasted Matthew Forde for a boundary before being bowled by the same bowler for a quickfire 16 off five balls.
New batter Kyle Mayers was in a no-nonsense mood, bludgeoning Forde for three sixes and two fours in the fourth over that leaked 27 runs, as the Patriots rocketed to 51 for one after four overs.
Mayers was caught at deep midwicket off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana shortly after for 32 off 16 balls, but Kevin Wickham joined Fletcher at the crease to add 45 runs for the third wicket.
Theekshana also claimed the wicket of Wickham for 19 to leave the score 97 for three in the 11th over.
However, with the Patriots scoring at well above the required run rate, even the wickets of Holder for 10 and Dasun Shanaka for 12 did little to slow them down, as Fletcher and Hasaranga scored the remaining 19 runs off 12 balls to carry their side to victory.
(CMC)
