St Lucia (West Indies): Barbados Royals maintained their dominant status in the ongoing Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a fourth win on the trot as they beat the Saint Lucia Kings by six wickets here on Friday.
The Royals’ decision to field after winning the toss paid dividends as they had the St Lucia Kings struggling at 90 for 5. Tim David and David Wiese rescued them from a total collapse with a 79-run sixth wicket stand in 43 balls. That helped them post a respectable total of 169 for six.
The Barbados Royals never looked in problems as they chased it down. Corbin Bosch arriving at the crease after the early dismissal of opener Quinton de Kock, spearheaded the chase with a superb 81 in 50 deliveries with 10 fours and one six. Kyle Mayers and Corbin Bosch plundered 84 runs from 48 balls to put their side well ahead of the game.
After Bosch departed it was David Miller and Holder who saw out the rest of the chase. Miller (29 not out in 18 deliveries) chipped in nicely as they reached the target with nine balls and six wickets to spare.
Meanwhile, the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots finally secured their first victory of the season with a four-wicket win over Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors chose to bat after winning the toss. They scored 66 runs in the first ten overs, but captain Shimron Hetmyer produced a fine 46 off just 21 balls, to take his side to 162/6 at the end of the innings. Earlier Chandrapaul Hemraj scored 43 in 38 balls.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were never allowed to settle after the second wicket stand of 47-run second wicket stand between Andre Fletcher (41) and Dewald Bravis (13). They lost frequent wickets throughout their chase.
When Dwayne Bravo and Darren Bravo both left in the 16th over the Patriots seemed to be in trouble.
But late in the innings, a remarkable display of power-hitting from Dwaine Pretorius with 27 not out in 12 balls with three sixes tilted the scales. Duan Jansen (23 not out) and Pretorius combined in the final overs with a 55-run partnership to guide the side to a remarkable win.
It earned Patriots their first win in this year’s CPL season with two balls remaining.
Brief scores: St Lucia Kings 169/6 in 20 overs (Tim David 40, Johnson Charles 29, David Wiese 28, Hayden Walsh 2/19) lost to Barbados Royals 174/4 in 18.2 overs (Corbin Bosch 81, Kyle Mayers 33, Alzarri Joseph 3/32) by six wickets.
Brief scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 162/ 6 in 20 overs (Chandrapaul Hemraj 43, Shimron Hetmeyer 46, Duan Jansen 2/37, Akila Danajaya 2/28) lost to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 163/ 6 in 19.4 overs (Andre Fletcher 41, Dwaine Pretorius 27 not out, Odean Smith 2/10, Romario Shepherd 2/42) by 4 wickets.
–IANS