Steady Antigua and Barbuda Falcons Chase Down St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots

Thursday sees the CPL return to the Sir Vivian Richard’s stadium in Antigua and Barbuda. The hosts Antigua and Barbuda Falcons begin their home stand looking to recover after the St. Lucia Kings handed the Falcons a season sweep. Their opponents, the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, are sitting at the foot of the table after a 51 run loss against the Kingsmen on Tuesday.

On a night where the runs flowed in the late innings, it would be the Falcons who would break the highest run chase at the Sir Vivian Richard’s Stadium in starting their home stand with a 3 wicket win.

Having been sent into bat, the Patriots would start the power play slow, Johnson Charles surviving a drop and a sure run out attempt in the 2nd over before falling in the 3rd. An edge off a Jayden Seales delivery would find an diving Amir Jangoo to end Charles innings for 17 off 14. Andre Fletcher would start his innings slow, but Kyle Mayers would score 22 of the last 28 runs of the power play aided by 2 fours and 2 sixes to recover the power play from 23-1 to 51-1.

That would be the theme of the Patriots innings. Just when things either started to get on track, a wicket would come to stall momentum. It would be the bowling of Shadab Khan and Moeen Ali that stalled the momentum before drinks, 19 runs coming from the 3 overs after the power play. Just as Mayers was starting to find form, opening the 10th over with a maximum, Mayers would go for consecutive sixes and be gone to deep midwicket. Shamar Springer would make the regulation catch to end Mayers innings on 34 from 18.

After drinks, Ali would see Andre Fletcher run out on a quick single call that was always going to be tight. When the throw from Jayden Seales found Jangoo perfectly with the throw Fletcher’s dive was never going to be enough, Fletcher departing on a tame 20 runs from 24 deliveries. Add a Kevin Wickham wicket an over later when Shadab bowled Wickham through the gate the Patriots were 80-4.

Suddenly momentum was back on the Falcons side again, as the next 3 overs would go for 13 runs. It would be Shadab’s final over that started the next Patriots run as Jason Holder and Nikhil Chaudhary, aided by 5 wides to start the 14th over, would go for a rapid 28.

Once Chaudhary went for 15 at long on, Dasun Shanaka would enter the crease. Shanaka had only one thing in mind, boundaries. After opening with a 4, Shanaka would survive a drop by Kamira Gore. After using the last 2 balls of the 17th over to reset, it was on. The final 3 overs would go for 55 runs, Shanaka responsible for 43 of them. With 4 additional fours to go with 4 sixes, Shanaka would finish his 17 deliveries to end on 49*. The ebbs and flows of the innings flowed the Patriots way last as they ended with a defendable total of 187-6.

The Patriots would get off to a dream start in their defense of 188, Amir Jangoo departing with the 4th ball of the opening over on a shot straight to Obed McCoy at short third. Karima Gore would enter at 3 and not make it out of the power play, a 22 run cameo before popping up to mid on. Between the wickets, the Falcons would keep close with the Patriots total, ending 47-2.

In the 6 overs after the power play it became a good news bad news situation. The good news for the Falcons, they didn’t concede a wicket. The bad news would be Evin Lewis and Hasan Nawaz would only score 38 runs. Going into the 13th over the Falcons needed over 2 runs a ball if they wanted to win this contest.

The 13th over was when the green light was given to start going for boundaries in earnest. Aided with the breeze stiffening up, the next 2 overs would go for 29 runs, 1 four and 3 sixes paired with 3 wides called would start the crawl back. The 3rd wicket partnership would be broken with the last ball of the 14th over, Kyle Mayers getting Lewis to fly into the wind. Jason Holder would run over from long on to make the catch. While Lewis didn’t get a half century, his steady hand gave his side belief they could win.

Jason Holder would get Nawaz to start the next over. That would bring Shadab Khan and Kusal Perrera to the middle, but it would be Shadab chasing maxes. In Shadab’s 12 ball cameo, 26 of his 30 runs would come from boundaries (2 fours and 3 sixes). Suddenly the run rate had dipped into manageable territory, helped by the Jason Holder running out of possible bowling options.

Dasun Shanaka would be called to bowl the 18th over, and would not be able to match with ball what he did with bat in the first innings. Moeen Ali was waiting to pounce and that he did. In a 16 run over, he would hit consecutive boundaries before rotating to Shamar Springer. Springer would hit a boundary of his own to keep strike going into the 19th over.

By that point it had become a formality. After navigating the 19th over bowling from a cramping Waqar Salamkheil, the 20th over would see captain Moeen Ali slice over short third for 4 before finishing with a max to win an enthralling contest.