In order to secure a berth in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) playoffs, the Barbados Royals defeated the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots by nine wickets at Kensington Oval, driven by the impressive performance of Rahkeem Cornwall, who was brought back to the team.
The Patriots’ batting order lost 7/31 and was bowled out for 110 in the final over, falling well short of a competitive score. Rahkeem Cornwall, taking advantage of the spin-friendly pitch, claimed 5/16. Quinton de Kock, the Royals’ in-form opener, was unstoppable with 59 not out off 38 balls as the team smashed the goal in the 12th over.
The Patriots’ (1-7) hopes of making the playoffs are all but gone, as the Royals (5-1) solidified their position atop the CPL standings. The Royals made the wise decision to bowl after a delayed start because of a damp pitch. Evin Lewis, who had been a centurion previously in the tournament, was upset by the Patriots’ struggles in the PowerPlay and holed out in the fourth over.
After a bloodlust caused him to run down the pitch at Cornwall’s opening ball, skipper Andre Fletcher finally broke free with a targeted assault on Jason Holder. However, he missed the stroke and was stumped.
After three consecutive ducks with the bat, Cornwall was called up, but he didn’t stop having an instant effect with the ball after tricking Mikyle Louis into taking a fake shot. Although he was unable to complete a hat-trick, he quickly took out Wanindu Hasaranga for his third wicket, sending the Patriots reeling to 61/6 at the halfway stage.
After getting rid of Odean Smith and taking five wickets, Rahkeem Cornwall was not even close to being finished when Alick Athanaze beautifully caught Ryan John in the deep
The Patriots were in serious danger of being bowled out for less than 100 runs, but Anrich Nortje and Joshua da Silva combined for the strongest partnership of the innings, scoring 39 runs, to save the day.
However, de Kock and Kadeem Alleyne made it look easy with an opening partnership of 57 in the powerplay, which prevented the Patriots from taking early wickets. Following his century-plus innings against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, de Kock displayed even more magnificent strokes all around the wicket.
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After Kyle Mayers was given out for a leg before wicket in the fifth over, he took advantage of the fact that the call was reversed upon review. Unexpectedly, Hasaranga, who had been held back until the sixth over, hit Alleyne on 25 on the pads to end the stand for the Patriots. However, de Kock cruised beyond yet another half-century as the Royals firmly secured a postseason spot.
India
