CPL 2024: Saint Lucia Kings beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 5 wickets in thrilling contest

Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) returned to winning ways on Friday in the ongoing season of the Caribbean Premier League defeating St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 5 wickets in a thrilling contest. After electing to bowl first, Alzarri Joseph bowled well to get two crucial wickets. Noor Ahmad's four economical overs allowed the Kings to restrict the opposition to 173/5 in 20 overs.

Johnson Charles and skipper Faf du Plessis kicked off the chase in blistering fashion scripting a 115-run stand for the first wicket in 10.4 overs. Charles smashed 74 runs in 42 balls, while du Plessis hammered 62 runs in 31 balls to put their side in control.

Despite losing a few quick wickets in the middle overs, SLK maintained their composure to chase down the total in 16.3 overs with 5 wickets in hand. Charles was named the Player of the Match for his brilliant batting.

“It was really good. Great bowling performance from our guys. 170 feels 20 short on this wicket. (On Descarte and Wiese's catches) Great catches - the boys have been catching well. These catches are really important (against guys that can hurt you),” SLK captain Faf du Plessis said. 

“(On their intent in the powerplay) Really important to put the pressure on the bowlers (at the start). 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. We turned it around nicely tonight. Important after two back-to-back losses. We wanted to give the fans something to smile about and glad we could do that (tonight),” he added.