West Indian great Chris Gayle added another feather to his T20 cap with yet another major title. Gayle’s St Kitts and Nevis Patriots won their maiden Caribbean Premier League title in a thrilling finale that went down to the wire. The Patriots prevailed over St. Lucia Kings to win CPL 2021 in the final played at Basseterre on Wednesday, September 15.
The star of the match was upcoming West Indian star Dominic Drakes, who played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 48 runs from 24 balls. Drakes ran a single of the last ball of the match with one run needed for victory.
@sknpatriots are the CPL 2021 champions! Congratulations #CPL21 #SLKvSKNP #CPL21 #CricketPlayedLouder pic.twitter.com/2qZO9LDtRC
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 15, 2021
Captained by another West Indian great in Dwayne Bravo, the Patriots won by three wickets as they chased a target of 160, set by St. Lucia Kings who scored 159/7 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. All-rounders Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase top-scored for the Kings with 43 runs each. The highlight of the innings, however, was youngster Keemo Paul’s late flurry of 39 runs from 21 balls, which included 5 sixes.
In the bowling department, Australian spinner Fawad Ahmed and young Pakistani seamer Naseem Shah picked two wickets each for the Patriots.
Patriots couldn’t have foreseen a worse start to their chase as St Lucia Kings’ Roston Chase claimed Gayle’s scalp for a duck. A 45-run stand for the third wicket by wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva (37) and Sherfane Rutherford (25) brought the Patriots back in the game. St Lucia Kings have now lost back-to-back CPL finals.
With the CPL 2021 edition wrapped up, several West Indian stars including Gayle, Bravo, Rutherford and Evin Lewis, as well as international stars like Imran Tahir and Faf du Plessis will head to the UAE as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition resumes from Sunday, September 19.
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