Johnson Charles innings and a superb spell by Alzarri Joseph provided a clinical win for St Lucia Kings (SLK) over Barbados Royals (BR) by 90 runs. SLK scored 195/6 in 20 overs and BR scored 105/10 in 17.3 overs.
Kings already won their last match by Raza’s allround performance against Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) while BR won their last match against Jamaica Tallawahs (JT) by 6 wickets.
Rovman Powell wins the toss and invites SLK to bat.
Kings got a brilliant start as their openers Colin Munro (33 runs) and Johnson Charles (78 runs) put 97 runs for the first wicket in just 9.6 overs. Charles showed his upper hand over the bowlers and played a sensible knock. He took 52 balls to complete this and hit 6 fours and 5 sixes. Both of the openers’ brilliance provided a solid start to the team.
After that some short but useful knocks in the death by Roshon Primus (19 runs) and newly appointed captain for the team in place of Faf du Plessis – Sikander Raza (18 runs) provided some crucial runs so that the team could get close to 200. Therefore at last they managed to score 195 runs in 20 overs and lost 6 wickets.
Van der Merwe was the highest wicket taker from his side and took 3 wickets. While Jason Holder got 2 wickets and Obed McCoy got 1 wicket.
The Royals once again show disappointment in their batting unit. Despite having some big names Rovman Powell (5 runs), Kyle Mayers (0 run), Rahkeem Cornwall (18 runs) and Jason Holder (18 runs) all of them failed to capitalize a good innings. They were unable to score big partnerships which unfortunately cost them the match.
Nyeem Young (20 runs) was the highest scorer from his team but he took 31 balls to get there. Finally they only scored 105 runs in 17.3 overs and lost all of their wickets.
Alzarri Joseph showed a great bowling spell and grabbed 3 wickets by giving away only 7 runs in his 2.3 overs. Roshon Primus and Peter Hatzoglou took 2 wickets each. Mathew Forde, Sikander Raza and Khary Pierre got 1 wicket each.
After winning the match Kings now again topping the table with 8 points in 6 matches while Royals remain at the 5th spot with 5 points in 6 matches.
Johnson Charles, SLK, Player of the Match
“We know that Mayers will start. Was about taking control of the powerplay, and not to lose many wickets. I had to take up the mantle as Faf wasn’t there. I had the responsibility of taking it deep for my team. I try to do everything for my team.”
Rovman Powell, BR Captain
“A tough day at the office. Nothing went well for us. We thought the wicket would get better and it did. But we couldn’t bowl or bat well. If you keep on losing games badly, you need to sit down.”
Sikander Raza, SLK Captain
“This group is very hungry. We train to the best of our ability. It makes my job easier. I thought the score was good. The wicket got good to bat on. The way the seamers bowled was very good. They picked up four wickets. I had a gut feeling that we should go with Primus. We have clear roles for the individuals. That makes it easier to execute.”