St. Kitts & Nevis, Sep 3 (IANS): A thrilling last-ball victory kept the local side St Kitts & Nevis Patriots' winning streak intact as they won their fifth match in succession, defeating Barbados Royals by two wickets in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Friday.
However, it was the fourth defeat of the tournament for the Barbados Royals. The Patriots won the toss and opted to bowl, taking wickets at regular intervals as the Barbados Royals posted 160/8, with Smit Patel, making his CPL debut, top scoring with 54.
Barbados Royals, put in to bat, got off to a steady start as Johnson Charles and Smit Patel made up for the early dismissal of Shai Hope. Patel reached his half century, while captain Jason Holder later made a quick 19 from seven balls.
DJ Bravo, captaining the side, was superb as he took four wickets and stopped Barbados Royals from piling runs towards the end of their innings.
The Patriots got off to a decent start with Devon Thomas (26) and Evin Lewis (19) and then a returning Chris Gayle top scored with 42 runs.
But from 95 for three, there was a sudden stumble as they lost three quick wickets and were 98 for six and the loss included the in-form Sherfane Rutherford who made just one run.
Then Sheldon Cottrell (20) and Dominic Drakes (28) helped them recover but they were still behind in the chase. Cottrell struck a six off the last ball for a dramatic win in front of the home crowd.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots remain top of the CPL league table with five wins out of five.
Meanwhile, Saint Lucia Kings earned their second win outplaying Guyana Amazon Warriors by 51 runs. The star of the match was Roston Chase 85 and one for 16) and the wicket was of Warriors captain Nicholas Pooran.
Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and put Saint Lucia Kings in to bat. Chase with 85 helped take his side to 149 for 7.
Saint Lucia lost Andre Fletcher and Faf du Plessis before Chase came in and raced to his half century from just 27 balls. He was supported by Mark Deyal and then Tim David before a flurry of late wickets restricted the team's total.
Guyana used eight different bowlers and Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith were the pick of the bowlers, as they both took three wickets each.
The Guyana Warriors faltered in their chase despite the best efforts of captain Pooran (41) and Odean Smith (31). None of the other batsmen reached double figures as Guyana were dismissed for 98. Jeavor Royal took three wickets while Obed McCoy and Kesrick Williams grabbed two each.
Brief scores: Barbados Royals 160/8 (Smit Patel 54, Charles 30; Bravo 4/26, van Meekeren 2/36); St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 163/8 (Gayle 42, Drakes 28; Young 3/26, Lintott 2/28).
Saint Lucia Kings 149/7 (Chase 85, Deyal 20; Shepherd 3/21, Smith 3/22); Guyana Amazon Warriors 98 all out (Pooran 41, Smith 31*; Royal 3/19, Williams 2/7).