Jamaica Kingsmen Send St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots to Crashing Defeat

Tuesday night brings the swansong to Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica as both Jamaica Kingsmen and St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots are looking to make it 2 wins on bounce. The Patriots won last Wednesday while Jamaica Kingsmen picked up their first victory this past Saturday.

On a night where both sides started their power play with 3 wickets, it would be the Kingsmen who would recover best. A 99 run partnership between Rovman Powell and Keemo Paul would be the difference as the Kingsmen would bowl the Patriots out with 2 overs to spare in winning by 51 runs.

Usman Khan replaces Shayan Jahangir in the lineup for the Kingsmen. Fresh off his time with the Washington Freedom and in England for The Hundred Nikhil Chaudhary makes his debut for the Patriots, replacing Waqar Salamkheil.

Having been sent into bat to start the contest, Saurabh Netravalkar would strike fast in an opening over that saw his 2nd wicket maiden in this CPL. Having survived a LBW review on the first ball of the innings, Kirk McKenzie would chop onto his leg stump with the 2nd to go for a duck. Keacy Carty would step to the crease next and after 2 more dots, he would edge to Andre Fletcher with the gloves for a 2nd duck of the over. Usman Khan would dot the last to complete the maiden.

Reeza Hendricks and Usman Khan would recover the power play to 36-2 before Wanindu Hasaranga would bowl Usman Khan LBW with the 3rd ball of the 6th over. Rovman Powell would begin to signal his intent with 6 runs from the final 3 balls of the power play, the power play ending 42-3.

After Hasaranga ended the innings of Hendricks 2 overs later, the Kingsmen were floundering at 54-4. Keemo Paul would be the one who stepped to the crease and after an opening 4, would survive an LBW called out by the umpire, hawkeye confirming it would spin wide of the leg stump.

That would be a freeing moment for Paul as the runs would begin to flow. In the next 10.1 overs, the pair would score less than 8 three times. Netravalkar’s first over pace and placement was suddenly gone After a first over double wicket maiden, he would concede 43 runs over his next 3 overs. The 50 run partnership would come up in 38 balls, Paul finding boundaries for fun. Keemo Paul would pick up his 3rd CPL half century in the 17th over, 5 fours and 5 sixes aiding a partnership that was threatening to reach the century mark. Rovman Powell was holding up his end of the bargain in this partnership as well while he was rotating strike, Paul was punishing with the bat.

Going into the final 3 overs, and with Andre Russell and Hassan Khan waiting to come in, it was free hit time for the pair who entered the 18th over with a 98 run partnership. After Rovman Powell rotated to make it 99 from 62, the 63rd delivery would see the partnership broken when Keemo Paul drove a Jason Holder delivery to long on where Kevin Wickman was waiting to end his innings on 65.

Rovman Powell would go an over later, finishing on 49 when caught and bowled on a pop fly right back to Obed McCoy. Andre Russell would 14 from 7 balls as Jamaica Kingsmen ended their innings scoring 67 runs in the final 5 to recover from 54-4, and 114-4, to end their innings on 181-6.

Needing 182 to win, Andre Fletcher looked to get the Patriots off to a flyer. He would pick up a 6 with the fifth ball of the innings, but would be gone a ball later. A line drive to mid on, and a waiting Andre Russell, would see Fletcher end his inning on 7.

Johnson Charles would live an innings on the edge, a no ball saving him in the 3rd over before Hunain Shah would get Charles to edge to Usman Khan with the gloves, an innings ending on 12. An over later, Keemo Paul would get the wicket of Kyle Mayers and suddenly the Patriots looked like they were crashing out at 31-3.

Despite Nikhil Chaudhary coming in and helping the Patriots end the power play 3 runs ahead of where the Kingsmen did, the tide was firmly in the hosts favor. Hassan Khan would end Chaudhary’s innings with an LBW that was never in doubt, suddenly now 60-4.

If there was ever a moment that summed up the Patriots innings it would come in the 9th over. After Kevin Wickham and Dasun Shanaka rotated with the first 3 balls of the over, Shanaka called 2 on the 4th ball that should have been routine. That routine 2 ended with the pair colliding in the middle of the crease, a simple stumping ending one of their innings. While Shanaka was getting treatment, the third umpire judged it was Shanaka who had to go.

The collision may as well been the beginning of the end. Needing over 10 an over in the back half of the innings, the next 3 went for 7 runs or less. Suddenly the Patriots needed over 2 runs a ball. The Kingsman bowling ensured that didn’t happen. Varying pace, bounce and location only Wickham was developing an innings. Despite going for 15 in the 14th over Jason Holder decided to tactically retire Navin Bidaisee. It would be a move that immediately backfired as Holder would be gone to Keemo Paul at cover.

A innings that should have started 2 batters ago instead was beginning of the collapse. The final 3 wickets would go for only 20 runs as the Kingsmen head on the road with momentum, and a side that is rounding into form in real time.