In the CPL 2024, Kieron Pollard’s explosive 52* off just 19 balls enabled the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to defeat St Lucia Kings by a thrilling four wickets.
With five balls remaining, Pollard’s brilliant hitting in the 19th over helped TKR win the match while chasing a target of 188, delivering the Kings their second straight loss.
Earlier, Roston Chase and Bhanuka Rajapaksa established a solid 80-run partnership to help St Lucia Kings post a competitive total of 187/6.
Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis, the Kings’ opening pair, gave the team a great start by scoring 57 runs at an average of 9.5 an over during their powerplay.
efore getting out of the fourth over to Sunil Narine, Charles was incredibly aggressive, hitting boundaries off Jayden Seales and Akeal Hosein.
After a solid 34 off 26 balls, Du Plessis was removed by Waqar Salamkheil, but he managed to keep the scoreboard moving.
After taking early wickets, Rajapaksa and Chase took control of the middle overs, with Rajapaksa hitting back-to-back sixes off Salamkheil.
Chase, who had a poor start, picked up speed in the final overs and hit some critical boundaries. Pollard removed Rajapaksa, but Chase finished unbeaten on 56* to guarantee the Kings a firm conclusion.
Even though Narine bowled 2 for 13 in his four overs, the Kings managed a solid total with late-inning cameos from Tim Seifert and Matthew Forde.
As a result, Narine’s two sixes in an explosive eight-ball cameo at the top gave TKR a fast start. Shaqkere Parris did the same, hitting sixes at will and reaching fifty in twenty balls or less.
With his forceful batting, TKR reached 70/1 in the first five overs. But the Kings were able to slow the scoring pace when they used their spinners, Noor Ahmad and Sadrack Descarte.
Noor significantly increased Dot-ball pressure, who removed Jason Roy and Parris, while Descarte’s tight bowling further restricted the TKR middle-order.
TKR could only muster 35 runs between overs 10 and 15, losing crucial wickets to Descarte’s accurate bowling. But TKR was never out of the hunt as long as Pollard remained at the crease.
After settling in, the TKR captain unleashed a devastating attack in the 19th over, hitting four sixes against Forde to reach his half-century mark and send TKR into the lead.
With strong hitting and composure under duress, TKR efficiently pursued the target, finishing at 189/6 in 19.1 overs.
Trinbago Knight Riders won their second game of the season, while St Lucia Kings suffered another heartbreaking defeat.
The main ingredients in TKR’s successful run chase were Narine’s economical bowling and Pollard’s all-around effort with the bat and the ball.
Short Scores
St Lucia Kings
187/6 in 20 overs (Waqar Salamkheel 2-37, Faf du Plessis 34, Sunil Narine 2-13)
Trinbago Knight Riders
189/6 in 19.1 overs (Matthew Forde 2-9, Noor Ahmad 2-35, Shaqkere Parris 57, Kieron Pollard 52*).
Trinbago Knight Riders prevailed by a margin of four wickets.
