Published: Aug 15, 2017, 12:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 15, 2017, 12:38 PM (IST)
Denesh Ramdin’s late blitz took Trinbago Knight Riders home, as they became the first team to reach the knockout of the CPL 2017. The Knight Riders stunned St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots by a 4-wicket win. Knight Riders, who were struggling at 89 for 5 in the 14th over, saw Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo stitch a crucial partnership of 41 runs to seal the game. In death overs, it was over to Ramdin and Javon Searles who smashed Carlos Brathwaite for successive boundaries in the penultimate over. From 50 off the final 4 overs, the equation was brought down to 3 off 6. However, Ramdin’s heroics ended the 159-run chase with three balls to spare.
Brathwaite provided the first breakthrough removing the dangerous Sunil Narine for 5. Colin Munro and Brendon McCullum tried to resurrect the innings. However, the former fell prey to Mohammad Nabi for 16. Nabi struck once again and removed Darren Bravo for 1. Ramdin then joined hands with Munro to stage a comeback in the innings. Hasan Ali showcased his athletic skills by picking some stunning catches, one of which was Munro for 36 and running out Dwayne for 20 with a direct-hit. Ramdin, along with Searles, launched a counterattack in the slog overs. Although Hasan was on top with his fielding skills, the rest of the players were unable to replicate the same. Brandon King had dropped Ramdin in the ninth over, which could have been a turning point for the Patriots. Also, Nabi and Samuel Badree, who shared 4 wickets between them, were underused with just 3 and 2 overs bowled respectively.
Earlier, Shamarh Brooks and Jonathan Carter contributed heavily with the bat. Their scores of 37 and 31 paved the way to a competitive score of 158. As for the bowlers, Narine was on top with 2 wickets while Shadab Khan, Kevon Cooper and Dwayne shared 3 wickets. With this, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots have lost all their five matches so far.
Brief scores:
St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots 158 for 7 in 20 overs (Shamarh Brooks 37, Jonathan Crater 31; Sunil Narine 2 for 26) lost to Trinbago Knight Riders 161 for 6 in 19.3 overs (Colin Munro 36, Denesh Ramdin 59*; Mohammad Nabi 2 for 12, Samuel Badree 2 for 14) by 4 wickets with 3 balls to spare
