CPL 2021: Trinbago choke St. Lucia Kings

Trinbago Knight Riders took advantage of their great ending to the innings with a commendable bowling display against St Lucia Kings.

The Riders won the match by 27 runs.

After a poor start to their batting innings, Trinbago finished off strongly, courtesy the brilliance of their captain Kieron Pollard, concluding their innings at 158/7.

The West Indies all-rounder was sensational as his hard-hitting was a crucial factor in his team managing to get to a decent total.

Later, the Knight Riders were outstanding with the ball as they restricted Saint Lucia Kings to 131/7 and won the match by 27 runs.

The Riders end their innings on a high

Trinbago’s captain Kieron Pollard and Tim Seifert ensured that Knight Riders ended their innings with a fighting total.

At the end of the seventeenth over, it looked like the Riders would find it difficult to cross 140.

However, 49 runs were scored in the last 18 balls to ensure that Trinbago finished on a high. 

Trinbago had a really poor start.

Despite losing just one wicket in the first nine overs, they were not effective in the powerplay overs.

Sunil Narine was hugely responsible for that as he only scored 24 runs off 32 balls. 

And then stepped up the Riders captain.

Kieron Pollard continued his good form in this tournament as he scored another majestic 41 runs off 29 balls, striking six fours and one six.

On the other hand, Tim Seifert was pretty effective as well as he scored an important 37 runs off 25 balls, with six boundaries to his name.

Overall, the Saint Lucia Kings did a pretty commendable job with the ball.

However, they will be disappointed with the way they leaked runs in the final three overs.

Wahab Riaz was effective early on but had to settle for figures of one wicket for 40 runs.

Kesrick Williams was the pick of the bowlers as he took four wickets and conceded only 24 runs.

A Rampaul masterclass

The momentum that Trinbago created in the last three overs played a huge part in their bowling display.

All the hopes of St Lucia Kings rested on Andre Fletcher.

The West Indian batsman was prolific throughout the innings as he scored 81 runs in 55 balls, with ten boundaries to his name.

Apart from him, only Faf du Plessis and Mark Deyal reached double figures. 

In the bowling department, the Riders were majestic as Ravi Rampaul destroyed the Kings’ middle order and was a huge reason for Trinbago restricting the Kings to just 131 runs.

The West Indian fast bowler secured figures of 3 wickets for 34 runs.

Apart from him, Isuru Udana continued to impress as he bagged a couple of wickets for just 32 runs in his four overs.

Alongside Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine was extremely economical as he conceded just 16 runs in his four overs and got a wicket.

Even though we can say that the bowlers of both sides played extremely well, the climax came in the last three overs of each innings.

Saint Lucia Kings allowed Trinbago Knight Riders to run away with the run rate.

Trinbago’s bowlers understood the situation brilliantly. They bowled extremely well at the death, never allowing St Lucia to settle.

Trinbago Knight Riders 158 for 7 (Pollard 41, Seifert 37, Williams 4-24) beat St Lucia Kings 131 for 7 (Fletcher 81*, Rampaul 3-34, Udana 2-32) by 27 runs.