St Kitts and Nevis Patriots scored 173/5 in 20 overs, where as Saint Lucia Kings scored 176/5 in 16.3 overs.
So, finally Saint Lucia Kings won by 5 wickets.
Rapid half-centuries from Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis set up a comfortable victory for the Saint Lucia Kings against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, who slumped to their sixth consecutive defeat.
Chasing 174, the Kings stormed to their target in just 16.3 overs, powered by Charles’s 42-ball 74, which included 4 fours and 7 sixes, and his 115-run opening partnership with du Plessis, who smashed a 31-ball 62, hitting five fours and as many sixes.
The six-wicket victory, achieved with 21 balls to spare, boosted the Kings’ net run rate and propelled them to third place on the points table.
Du Plessis set the tone for the chase with a boundary off Kyle Mayers in the opening over, while Charles hammered two sixes off Johann Layne.
Du Plessis then shifted gears, cracking two fours off Mayers and two sixes off Veerasammy Permaul, with Charles also contributing with a boundary off the spinner.
This onslaught saw the Kings reach 50 in just four overs.
The assault continued as du Plessis launched a six off Anrich Nortje, followed by a flurry of boundaries and sixes from Charles off Layne, propelling the Kings to 72/0 at the end of the powerplay.
Milestones soon followed: Charles became the first player to cross 3000 CPL runs, while du Plessis’s back-to-back sixes off Permaul brought up his 25-ball fifty.
The Kings crossed 100 inside nine overs, registering their first century opening stand since 2019.
By the 10th over, they were firmly in control at 113/0, needing just 61 off 60 balls.
Charles reached his half-century off 33 balls in the 11th over, but the partnership ended when du Plessis edged a wide delivery from Josh Clarkson to the wicketkeeper.
Tim Seifert’s quick start with a six and a four was cut short by Clarkson, but Charles continued his assault, smashing two more sixes before Bhanuka Rajapaksa joined in with a maximum off Tabraiz Shamsi.
Rajapaksa was dismissed after overturning an lbw decision, while Charles’s entertaining knock ended at the hands of Wanindu Hasaranga, who also took Sadrack Descarte’s wicket.
However, the late wickets came too late, as Roston Chase sealed the win with a boundary in the 17th over.
Earlier, the Patriots, asked to bat, had a positive start with Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis.
Fletcher was aggressive, hitting two sixes and four fours during the powerplay, while Lewis added a couple of boundaries as the openers guided the team past 50 in the first six overs.
Descarte broke the partnership, dismissing Lewis, and while Mayers briefly threatened with a four and a six, he was bowled by Chase.
Rilee Rossouw joined Fletcher in a 70-run partnership, contributing the bulk of the runs, with a six off Noor Ahmad bringing the Patriots past 100.
Fletcher notched a 40-ball fifty, but quiet overs left the Patriots at 112/2 after 15 overs.
Rossouw’s quick-fire fifty, brought up in 30 balls, was crucial, but his dismissal by David Wiese soon after meant the Patriots struggled to gain momentum.
Despite some late hitting by Mikyle Louis, the Patriots couldn’t reach 180, as Joseph’s tight final over restricted them to a sub-par total.
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