Saint Kitts and Nevis Patriots claimed their first ever Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title by defeating the Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) by three wickets in a closely contested encounter at Warner Park Wednesday.
The Kings won the toss and chose to bat, as they did in their semi-final match against Trinbago Knight Riders one day earlier. Despite losing wickets at key stages of the game, they built a total around the batting of Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall and Keemo Paul to reach 159 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs.
In what was a dramatic final, the Patriots managed to successfully chase their target with 23-year-old Dominic Drakes the hero with the bat; scoring 48 not out off 24 deliveries and securing a remarkable victory with the last ball of the match.
Saint Lucia Kings started their innings with the loss of captain, Andre Fletcher caught by Sheldon Cottrell for 11 off the bowling of Fawad Ahmed with the score on 25 and Mark Deyal for 1, caught by Sherfane Rutherford off the bowling of Dominic Drakes with the score on 32 after 4.1 overs.
Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase got the innings back on track with a 44 runs partnership before Cornwall was bowled by Fabian Allen for 43 which included 5 fours and 2 sixes with the score on 76 for 3.
David Wiese 2 (4 for 81) and Tim David 10 (5 for 100); at that point the SLK was in a spot of bother, but the inform Roston Chase and Keemo Paul added a further 28 before Chase was bowled by Naseem Shah for 43 with the score at 128 for 6. Paul was next out, caught by substitute Jonathan Carter off the bowling of Naseem Shah for a cameo 39 from 21 deliveries which included 5 towering sixes which took SLK to a respectable total (159). The not out batsmen Wahab Riaz 2 and Jeavor Royal 0.
Bowling for the Patriots, Naseem Shah 2 for 26, Fawad Ahmed 2 for 32, Fabian Allen 1 for 17, Jon-Russ Jaggesar 1 for 34 and Dominic Drakes 1 for 38.
Chasing 160 for victory, SLK could not have asked for a better start with the ball when Chris Gale, affectionately known as the Universe Boss, was bowled by Roston Chase for a duck (1 for 1), and 25 runs later his fellow opening partner Evin Lewis soon followed ,well caught by Chase in the deep, diving forward, off the bowling of Wahab Riaz for 6 (26 for 2) after 3.5 over.
Wicketkeeper batsman Joshua da Silva 37 from 32 deliveries (3 for 71) and Sherfane Rutherford 25 from 22 deliveries (4 for 75) the pair went out quickly followed by captain Dwayne Bravo for 8 (5 for 95). However, things would take a dramatic turn as the pendulum shifted towards the host.
The Patriots would find a new hero in Dominic Drakes, who recorded his highest ever score in cricket 48 not out, hitting 3 fours and 3 sixes to take the team to victory with a single off the last ball bowled by Kesrick Williams to claim Player of Match award.
Fabian Allen 20 (6 for 139), Sheldon Cottrell 5 (7 for 151), while Naseem Shah remained not out 1.
Bowling for SLK, Wahab Riaz 2 for 36, Roston Chase 1 for 17, Alzarri Joseph 1 for 22, David Wiese 1 for 27 and Kesrick Williams 1 for 29.
