Johnson “Johno” Charles led the St Lucia Kings to a resounding victory against the St Kitts/Nevis Patriots on Thursday night at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground [DSCG], firmly establishing his dominance in the CPL batting charts by becoming the first player to exceed 3,000 runs in the tournament’s history.
This victory comes after two consecutive home game losses, demonstrating the Kings’ forceful resurgence. Charles, with an explosive 74 off 42 balls (4×4, 7×6) and skipper Faf du Plessis, scoring 62 off 31(5×4,5×6) set the tone with a commanding 115-run opening partnership, ultimately leading the Kings to a total of 176/5 off 16.3 overs.
Earlier, Patriots captain Andre Fletcher had to steady the ship with a knock of 62 off 50 balls (5×4, 2×6), and later Rilee Rossouw hit a quick-fire 50 off 31 balls (1×4, 5×6) to post a competitive score.
Rossouw and Fletcher featured in a 70-run third wicket partnership, before Fletcher got out in the 17 th over, and Rossouw’s cameo ended in the 19th over.
The Kings’ bowlers, particularly Alzarri Joseph and Roston Chase, delivered commendable performances, restricting the Patriots and setting the stage for the Kings’ dominant victory. The ever-dependable David Wiese and homeboy Shadrack Descarte claimed one wicket each.
Interestingly, it was Descarte who made the initial breakthrough to get rid of Evin Lewis15 off 16 (2×4) who put on an opening stand of 51(6.1overs) with Fletcher. Descatre also pulled off two superb catches in the deep, to get the fans worked up as they spurred the Kings on to victory.
In the run chase, the Kings did it at a canter, with Charles and du Plessis setting it all up in the powerplay, with all guns blazing. After du Plessis’s dismissal, Charles took full control and fell with only single digits required.
The team’s spirited performance was met with wild cheers from the fans, and the skipper, Faf du Plessis, commended the team’s bowling and fielding efforts, underscoring the deliberate strategy to apply pressure during the power play.
“Chasing 170, you can break the back of the opposition when you do that. Glad we could do it. Important that one guy also bats through and Charles did that beautifully,” du Plessis declared.
Commenting on the victory, the Kings skipper noted: “We turned it around nicely…(that’s) important after two back-to-back losses. We wanted to give the fans something to smile about and glad we could do that.”
Charles, Player of the Match said: “It was a very good innings. I would have loved to finish off for the team. Opening with Faf has been good. We feed off each other’s energy. (On the people dancing in the Johnson Charles Stand) It feels lovely, with the crowd supporting us, even when we lost two. A huge thank you to our supporters.”
With this crucial win, the Kings have turned the tide and are now focused on securing a playoff spot as they prepare to face the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in their next match, on Sunday, at the DSCG.