MATCH REPORT
Follow UsDavid Wiese's claimed 5-25 while Faf du Plessis scored a 54-ball 84 as St Lucia Kings knocked out Barbados Royals out of Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2021) semifinal contention with 14-run win on Saturday.
The Royals won the toss and captain Jason Holder chose to field, which looked like a good decision as the Kings lost two wickets in the Powerplay to the superb Mohammad Amir. However, Saint Lucia Kings captain Faf du Plessis once again produced a masterful performance, scoring 84 runs to take his side to a commanding 175/6.
Despite a strong start in reply, the Royals were sent into disarray in the ninth over as Wiese took three wickets, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Glenn Phillips all fell within five balls. Despite a late fightback from Holder and Hayden Walsh, it was not enough and the side finished on 154/8.
Saint Lucia Kings had reshuffled their batting order for this game, with Mark Deyal opening, yet it was to have little effect as both Andre Fletcher and Deyal were back in the pavilion after three overs, with Amir getting early wickets. It was left to du Plessis to build a big score, scoring 84 from 54 balls, partnering effectively with Tim David. A late cameo from Keemo Paul (22 off 11 balls helped Kings reach a substantial total.
The Royals lost Kyle Mayers in the third over but rebuilt with Charles (30 off 24 balls) and Hope (31 off 18 balls) looking confident at the crease. However, after three wickets fell in an over, they were unable to recover, losing more wickets as the run rate increased, notably Holder, who was looking dangerous on 34 runs off 24 balls. A rain delay saw their innings reduced by one over, and Royals' hopes of a win were over when Wiese removed Walsh (30 off 18 balls) in 19th over.