St. Lucia Kings scored 187/6 in 20 overs, where as Trinbago Knight Riders scored 189/6 in 19.1 overs.
So, finally Trinbago Knight Riders beat St. Lucia Kings by 4 wickets.
Kieron Pollard’s blistering 19-ball 52* propelled Trinbago Knight Riders to a successful chase of a 188-run target, sealing victory with five balls and four wickets to spare, and handing St Lucia Kings their second consecutive defeat of CPL 2024.
Roston Chase and Bhanuka Rajapaksa stabilized the Kings’ innings after a shaky start, guiding them to a competitive 187/6.
However, Shaqkere Parris’ explosive knock, combined with Pollard’s clinical finishing, ensured a comfortable win for the Knight Riders, marking their second triumph of the season.
Sent in to bat first, the Kings maintained a brisk scoring rate of 9.5 runs per over in the powerplay, courtesy of Johnson Charles’ 14-ball cameo of 29 and skipper Faf du Plessis’ steady 26-ball 34.
After a quiet opening over, Charles launched an assault on Jayden Seales with a series of boundaries, followed by another aggressive display against Akeal Hosein.
TKR turned to Sunil Narine in the fourth over, and the veteran spinner made an immediate impact by dismissing Charles, caught at long-off.
Though Hosein continued to be expensive against du Plessis, Narine tightened the screws in his next over and also claimed a golden duck from new batter Sadrack Descarte.
Narine, however, dropped du Plessis on 23, and the former South African skipper responded with a six to maintain the momentum.
But Waqar Salamkheil brought an end to du Plessis’ knock, bowling him with a sharp turner.
Chase and Rajapaksa then came together to rebuild the innings, putting on an 80-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Rajapaksa shifted gears, smashing consecutive sixes off Salamkheil, while Chase joined the onslaught in the 17th over.
Pollard dismissed Rajapaksa with a slower ball, but Chase continued the charge, hitting a six on either side of the wicket in the 18th over.
Late cameos from Tim Seifert (11 off 4) and Matthew Forde (11 off 7) pushed the Kings to a strong total, despite Narine’s brilliant figures of 2 for 13 in his four overs.
Narine wasn’t done yet.
He gave the Knight Riders’ chase a flying start with two sixes in his brief eight-ball cameo, setting the tone for the powerplay.
Parris followed suit, launching a first-ball six and hammering three more in Khari Campbell’s opening over to propel TKR to 70/1 in just five overs.
Noor Ahmad slowed the scoring by removing Jason Roy at the other end in a tight over.
Parris, undeterred, brought up his half-century in just 20 balls with his sixth six.
However, Descarte returned to the attack to break the momentum, having Nicholas Pooran caught at deep cover.
In the middle overs, TKR could only add 35 runs between the 10th and 15th overs.
Noor struck again, removing the well-set Parris as dot-ball pressure mounted, while Descarte completed his spell with an economical 1-24.
With the game in the balance, Pollard unleashed his firepower.
Already starting with a second-ball six, the TKR skipper took the game away from the Kings with a brutal display in the 19th over, smashing four more sixes off Forde to complete his 19-ball half-century and secure a comfortable victory for his team.
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