Kings crowned CPL champions for the first time

St Lucia’s golden year in sport reached new heights as the Saint Lucia Kings captured their first-ever Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title with a six-wicket victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence Stadium last night.

Following Julien Alfred’s historic Olympic medal win for St Lucia just two months earlier, the Kings added to the island’s sporting glory by chasing down 139 runs, silencing the packed stands of last year’s champions. The Kings sealed their triumph with a superb unbeaten partnership of 88 runs between Barbadians Aaron Jones and Roston Chase, rescuing their side from a perilous position of 51 for 4 after 9.5 overs.

The Warriors appeared to have the upper hand when key batsmen Faf du Plessis and Johnson Charles were dismissed for 21 and 7 respectively, and Guyana’s formidable spin attack took control on the slow, two-paced pitch. With the Kings unable to find the boundary for nine consecutive overs, the required run rate climbed to nearly 13. Jones, who had laboured to 10 off 19 deliveries and was on the verge of being retired out by coach Daren Sammy, suddenly unleashed a flurry of boundaries, smashing 38 runs from his next 12 balls.

In the decisive 16th over, Jones and Chase, who was battling illness, took 27 runs off Moeen Ali, turning the tide of the match. Dwaine Pretorius, last year’s Player of the Match, conceded 20 more runs in the following over, reducing the equation to just 19 runs required from the final 18 deliveries. An injured Romario Shepherd returned to bowl the 18th over, but his 18-run concession all but confirmed the Kings’ victory, which was sealed in the 19th over by an Imran Tahir wide.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Chase, who was named Player of the Match. “I’ve made two finals before, and lost… The captain told me that was the best match-up [to Hope]. The game was still close, but Guyana bowled a couple of tight overs. Then the rate got to 13, and I told Aaron that we need a big over.”

Earlier, the Amazon Warriors were restricted to a modest 138 after being asked to bat first on a challenging surface. Their innings got off to a sluggish start, scoring just 27 runs in the powerplay—the second-lowest they managed all season—while losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over. Runs were difficult to come by, and when Shimron Hetmyer fell to Noor Ahmad’s clever spin for 11, the Warriors found themselves struggling at 54 for 4 by the 10.3 over. Shai Hope contributed 22 off 24 balls before he too was undone by spin, falling to his West Indian counterpart Chase.

Reflecting on the defeat, Warriors captain Imran Tahir said, “We didn’t start well with the bat. We knew dew was going to come… Tough luck today. I also want to congratulate the St Lucia Kings. If we batted better, we could have had 170 or 180. That’s a good score on this pitch, especially with the spinners we have. Just one over took it away.”

Noor Ahmad was the standout for the Warriors, delivering impressive figures of 4-0-19-3 and earning the Player of the Tournament title for his 22 wickets across the season. “It’s quite a special day for us, and for St Lucia,” the Afghanistan left-arm spinner said. “Everyone tried to give their best. From the first day we had belief that we would be champions.”

Despite a late flourish from Shepherd and Pretorius, who added 36 runs in the final two overs, the Warriors fell short of a truly imposing total. St Lucia Kings coach Daren Sammy’s joyous bear hug with Aaron Jones after the match will remain an iconic image of this remarkable triumph.

Summarised Scores

Guyana Amazon Warriors 138-8 in 2o overs (Dwaine Pretorius 25, Shai Hope 22; Noor Ahmad 3-19, Forde 1-11)

Saint Lucia Kings 139-4 in 18.1 overs (Aaron Jones 48*, Roston Chase 39*; Kevin Sinclair 1-5, Dwaine Pretorius 1-25)

Result: Saint Lucia Kings win by six wickets with 11 balls remaining (JC)

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