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CPL 2021 Final Preview | SLK vs SKNP: Eyeing maiden title, Kings, Patriots look to take over the reigns

The Caribbean Premier League will witness a new champion getting crowned on Wednesday when St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will be up against Saint Lucia Kings in the final showdown in St Kitts. 

While the Patriots rode on another Evin Lewis’ show to march into the title clash as they defeated Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wickets while chasing a target of 179 runs, the Kings on the other hand beat defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders to make a place for themselves in the finale. 

While the Patriots team’s batting unit took the onus on itself to take control of the game against Guyana, the bowlers, barring Sheldon Cottrell never really let the opposition take upper hand during the course of the game. 

Saint Lucia on the other hand, hammered the TKR bowlers all around the park and posted 205/4 in 20 overs, courtesy some fine piece of batting from the middle-order. Mark Deyal’s 44-ball 78 was the highlight on the innings. 

Later, David Wiese thoroughly dominated the TKR batting order and bagged a second fifer of the tournament to anchor the side to a win by 21 runs. 

While the two teams that will be facing off in the final marched ahead after winning their respective last encounters quite comfortably in the end but the Kings might have an edge as they won both the league matches against the Patriots and that too in a thumping manner. 

The first time when the two sides met, regular skipper Faf du Plessis who had missed the side’s semi-final against TKR and the last league match as he was carrying a groin injury, notched up a century and helped his side post a mammoth 224/2 in 20 overs and then the bowlers bundled out Patriots for 124 to win the match by a huge margin of 100 runs. 

In the next encounter, the Saint Lucia bowlers did the job and bowled the opposition out for just 118 runs. The Kings later chased down the target by 6 wickets after Roston Chase scored an unbeaten half-century. 

Nevertheless, it’s going to be a fresh start for the sides when they take the field on Wednesday.

Match Details

Match: SLK vs SNP, Final, Caribbean Premier League 2021

Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts

Telecast: Star Sports Network, Fan Code App

Team News

Saint Lucia Kings: The Kings’ regular skipper Faf du Plessis had missed the last league match and semi-final clash as he was carrying a groin injury. The right-handed batsman’s availability to play the final is still not confirmed and if he doesn’t play then Andre Fletcher will lead the side. 

Apart from this, Roston Chase will play a key role in this final show. He has been among runs in the competition and the team management would want him to continue with his form with the willow. The middle-order looks pretty stable while the bowlers, especially David Wiese, are in some good touch. 

Moreover, he would be riding high on confidence after picking up a fifer and chipping in with some runs at the end of the innings in the all-important semi-final. 

Patriots: Patriots’ openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis and captain Dwayne Bravo did the job for them in the previous game. Lewis has had a superb run in this CPL 2021 and the team would seek another positive start from him at the top of the order. 

Pitch Report

The last two matches at St Kitt's saw a huge amount of runs being scored. The track had something on offer for the batsmen in the semi-finals and the pitch might not see much of a change. So, if you win the toss, bat first and try to post a good total on the board. 

Probable XI

SLK: Andre Fletcher (c & wk), Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, David Wiese, Tim David, Keemo Paul, Kadeem Alleyne, Jeavor Royal, Alzarri Joseph, Wahab Riaz

SKNP: Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Dwayne Bravo (c), Fabian Allen, Dominic Drakes, Sheldon Cottrell, Naseem Shah, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Fawad Ahmed

Fantasy XI

Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis (VC), Mark Deyal, Dwayne Bravo, David Wiese, Roston Chase (C), Dominic Drakes, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Ahmed, Jon-Russ Jaggesar 

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