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CPL 2021 | GAW vs SKNP | 2nd semi-final: Patriots ride on Evin Lewis' onslaught to march into the final

The Caribbean Premier League will have a new champion as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are all set to lock horns with Saint Lucia Kings in the title clash on Wednesday. 

The Patriots registered a place for themselves in the final after beating Guyana Amazon Warriors in the second semi-final in St Kitts by 7 wickets after chasing down a target of 179 in less than 18 overs. 

Riding on some aggressive stroke-play from openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, the Warriors put up 76 for the first wicket before Gayle was sent back in the hut by Kevin Sinclair for 42 off 27 that included three maximums. 

But Gayle’s dismissal didn’t really stop Lewis from scoring runs at a brisk pace as he along with captain Dwayne Bravo who came in at number three put 88 for the second wicket. Bravo was eventually undone by Odean Smith when the team score read 164. 

Fabian Allen followed him next without troubling the scorers but Lewis was in a different form as he took the team over the line and struck an unbeaten 39-ball 77 which included 8 maximums during the course. 

Earlier, the Guyana team put 178/9 in 20 overs, courtesy a quick-fire 45* off 20 from Shimron Hetmyer. 

The Warriors though had a decent start to the proceedings but lost wickets at regular intervals and the batsmen didn’t really capitalise on the starts they got. Brandon King and Chandrapaul Hemraj scored 27 each while skipper Pooran chipped in with 14-ball 25. 

Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Dominic Drakes, Naseem Shah and Fawad Ahmed were among the wickets after all of them scalped a couple of wickets apiece. 

Patriots captain Bravo lauded the team for their efforts and also admitted that the side wanted to bowl first. 

“We have a lot of experience in our group. It helps. We wanted to bowl first and we knew they wanted to bat first. It was important to bowl well. At the halfway mark, we were happy. It was a good day with the bowling group,” he said after the match. 

Guyana skipper Pooran expressed his disappointment at the loss and said that the bowling wasn’t really up to the mark during the course. 

“Tough loss. As a bowling group, we weren't upto the mark. Having said that, I hope that we take the learning from this. We were happy with anything over 160, Hetmyer played really well to get us to a good score,” he said.  

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CPL 2021 | 1st semi-final | TKR vs SLK- David Wiese' phenomenal all-round performance eliminate defending champions

We will have a new winner in this edition of the Caribbean Premier League after St Lucia Kings defeated the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders in the 1st semi-final by 21 runs. It was a resounding all-round showing by the Kings against a formidable opponent. While they were tested till the very end in the bowling department, the batsmen had actually given a cushion to the bowlers which resulted in their victory despite the bowlers faltering on occasions. The target of 206 was always going to be a tall ask for the Knight Riders. However if one team could chase this total down, it would have surely been TKR. It wasn’t the ideal start for the defending champions as they lost the flamboyant opener, Lendl Simmons, in the final delivery of the first over. Despite the initial wicket, the St Lucia bowlers came under some stick against two powerful left-handed batsmen in the form of Sunil Narine and Colin Munro. Sending Narine up the order was a clear indication that TKR wanted a brisk start and it was provided by both Narine and Munro. A partnership of 76 runs laid the foundation for the run-chase but it was the 8th over bowled by David Weise which totally changed the complexion of the match. The medium-pacer accounted for both the batsmen in the same over to put the brakes on the run chase. TKR needed to shift the momentum quickly and it was Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard who broke the shackles and got TKR back into the game. The duo shared a 41 runs stand before Bravo departed. Pollard kept them in the hunt with his belligerent strokeplay but his dismissal effectively tilted the scales totally in favour of St Lucia Kings. There were a few blows here and there but the target proved to be way too much in the end as they eventually fell 21 runs short. Earlier in the day, it was Andre Fletcher, the Lucia Kings skipper who won the toss and opted to bat. It wasn’t the greatest of starts for the Kings as they lost Rahkeem Cornwall in the very first over. However, it was a sensational counter-attacking knock from Mark Deyal which got them off to a flier. While Deyal was making a mockery of the bowling attack with his delectable strokeplay, Fletcher was having a hard time at the other end. He was unable to time any from the middle but still managed to share a 73 runs stand with Deyal where his contribution was only 4 of 14 deliveries. Roston Chase joined Deyal in the crease and the duo continued the blitz. Deyal smashed his way to 78 of 44 deliveries before perishing to Sunil Narine in his second spell. Despite the wicket of the in-form batsman, it was Chase and David Weise who then took the onus on themselves to keep the momentum going. The much needed late impetus to the innings was provided by Tim David and Weise. Both went on a power-hitting spree and kept clobbering the TKR bowlers all around the park. David yet again displayed his tremendous bottom hand power remaining unbeaten on 38 of 17 deliveries which included a four and four sixes. At the other end, Weise remained undefeated on 34 of 21 deliveries which was studded with a four and 4 sixes as they reached a big score of 205 in their allotted 20 overs.

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Substantial hike in match fees for domestic players confirms BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to increase the match fees for the domestic cricketers after being unable to allow the state associations to offer the domestic players central contracts. As per reports in the Sportstar, it is learnt that there will be a significant hike in the match fees atleast for the men’s cricketers. The BCCI apex council will announce the pay hike which is expected to be more than 40 per cent during it’s meeting on 20th September. Presently, the senior men’s domestic cricketers earn Rs 35,000 per day for a Ranji Trophy or a Vijay Hazare Trophy match. While competing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the cricketer is paid Rs 17,500 per game. The figures are for the players who are part of the playing XI. The reserve bench players receive half of what the playing XI players receive. Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly had clearly mentioned back in 2019 after his appointment as the BCCI president that he wants to introduce central contracts for domestic players via the state associations. However, it must be noted that the states have pointed out their problems introducing central contracts. The BCCI has themselves taken the initiative of increasing the match fees of first-class games to atleast Rs 50,000 and one-days while half of it for T20s. The state associations are welcome to offer central contracts to their players despite the rise in the match fees. Meanwhile, the additional match fees also mean that the players will be compensated for the reduced number of matches.