St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were off to a flying start in the CPL 2021 after they etched a comprehensive 21-run win against Barbados Royals on Friday. Chasing 176 in 20 overs, the Royals were restricted to 154/7.
Barbados didn’t really have a great start to the proceedings after the Patriots scalped an early wicket in the form of Jhonson Charles who was sent back in the hut for 12 while the team score read 17.
The Barbados side then lost wickets at regular intervals and were left tottering at 67/4 when Shai Hope was joined by Azam Khan in the middle and the two players stitched a partnership of 37 runs for the fifth wicket. Tight lines from the Patriots mixed with poor intent from the Barbados batting unit meant that their innings never really took off and they were left with chasing over 10 runs per over for the most part of the game.
Hope was later undone by Cottrell after Fabian Allen took a good catch to send him back in the hut for 44. Azam did try to score some runs at a brisk pace but the Barbados team never really made a comeback in the game and suffered a defeat eventually.
Dominic Drakes and Allen were the pick of the bowlers for the Patriots in this encounter. Drakes returned with figures of 2/13 in four overs while Allen picked up one wicket at the cost of 12 runs in three overs during the course.
Earlier, the Patriots too had a disappointing start to the innings after they were reduced to 39/4 with the likes of Chris Gayle and Even Lewis back in the pavilion.
But what unleashed next was a treat to watch. A struggling Sherfane Rutherford along with captain Dwayne Bravo took on the Barbados bowling line-up and struck 115 runs for the fifth wicket.
Rutherford notched up a 43-ball 53 that included four maximums and a couple of boundaries while Bravo remained unbeaten at 47 off 35. Later, Allen too chipped in with a quick-fire 19* off 7 to help the side put 175/5 in 20 overs on the board.
Oshane Thomas bagged three wickets for Barbados while Amir and skipper Jason Holder picked up one wicket each.
Later, Bravo talked about his partnership with Rutherford. “I was just trying to play the ball on merit with a clear mind. Once we bat deep, we know we can capitalize. I will give a lot of credit to Sherfane for the way he batted,” he said after the match.
Barbados skipper Holder admitted that they did give away some extra runs but also lauded Thomas for his performance with the ball.
“Not a bad bowling effort. Pretty good with the new ball. Oshane Thomas was brilliant. Probably gave 20 runs too many in the end. Bravo and Sherfane batted so well. It's not a surprise to me (to see Oshane Thomas do well),” he said.
Barbados will now lock horns with Trinbago Knight Riders while Patriots will play Guyana Amazon Warriors on Saturday.