A high-scoring affair in the second match of the day in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) saw Trinbago Knight Riders end the season for the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots with a seven-wicket defeat.
After winning their first match of the competition, the Patriots have lost every game since, but this defeat in Tarouba seemed particularly cruel after they posted a sizeable 193/4 with the bat after being inserted at the toss.
Captain Andre Fletcher led from the front with a brilliant innings of 93 from 61 balls that included shots all around the ground and six sixes struck into the crowd. Fletcher was denied a deserved century, falling short by seven runs when Chris Jordan had him caught by the bucket hands of Kieron Pollard on the long-off boundary.
Jordan was the pick of the Knight Riders bowlers and also gave a glimpse of his own velcro hands by pulling off an impressive diving catch off his bowling when Kyle Mayers miss-timed a short ball and offered up a sharp return chance.
The Knight Riders were clinical in their chase, Jason Roy blitzing 64 runs from 34 deliveries at the top of the order before Nicholas Pooran finished the job in some style, striking a flat six down the ground – his seventh of the evening – to finish the match.
Pooran was Player of the Match, hitting thirteen boundaries to finish undefeated on 93* off just 43 deliveries, albeit he was aided by some sloppy catching that saw him put down on a handful of occasions in the field.
The Patriots will rue the dropped catches and the missed opportunity to finish a tough campaign with a victory over one of the favourite sides. The Knight Riders will benefit from a Net Run Rate boost, having hauled down the sizeable target with nine balls remaining, they now sit on ten points alongside Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors.