Reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors booked their spot in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final by inflicting an eight wicket defeat over Barbados Royals in Providence. 

Imran Tahir won the toss and decided to field first, himself and his fellow bowlers working as a well oiled unit to restrict and run through the Royals who eventually posted a total of 148 runs. 

The Royals batting card was full of starts but no one grabbed the innings by the scruff of the neck and went on to post a decisive score as wickets continued to fall. Quinton de Kock chipped a simple caught and bowled chance back to Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd picked up the key wicket of Rahkeem Cornwall with a reviewed lbw decision that went the Warriors way. 

Cornwall was looking in fine form and the reversal of the on field decision put the Royals under real pressure that they never really recovered from. 

The Warriors bowling line up shared the wickets between them, Shepherd finishing with 3/35 and Moeen Ali once again bowling a decisive spell with the ball in hand, spearing in 13 dot balls and picking up two wickets to end with 2/24 for his efforts. Some chaotic running in the scrabble for late runs also saw two run outs as the Royals innings spluttered to a close. 

The Warriors set about the total with confidence and managed to win the match and secure their place in Sunday's final inside 15 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali flayed the ball to all parts at the top of the order, Gurbaz departing for a rapid 40 off 18 balls with four sixes and Ali finishing unbeaten on 44 off 35 balls to cap a fine all round performance in a crucial match. 

Shai Hope made a classy half century before being yorked by Ramon Simmonds with just two runs needed for victory, Player of the Match Moeen Ali clipping the decisive single off his pads just a couple of balls later to land the telling blow. 

The winning run struck with 33 balls left unused saw the Barbados Royals title hopes left in tatters and Guyana Amazon Warriors cruising to a comprehensive victory that gives them an opportunity to land back to back CPL titles. Saint Lucia Kings lie in wait in what promises to be an enthralling end to the 2024 competition. 

After 30 matches in the preliminary phase, we have finally come to the portion of the 2024 Caribbean Premier League where a champion will be crowned…the playoffs.

The four-match spectacle, all to take place at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, is set to bowl off with the eliminator on Tuesday evening between the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Barbados Royals.

The loser of that encounter will unfortunately see their 2024 CPL campaign come to an end while the winner will advance to the second qualifier to face the loser of Wednesday’s Qualifier 1 between hosts, defending champions and league-phase table toppers, the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the St. Lucia Kings.

That game will take place on Friday and the winner will face the winner of Qualifier 1 in the final on Sunday.

The Kings are the only team in these playoffs yet to lift a CPL title, finishing as runners up in consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.

The Knight Riders will be looking to add to their record four titles, with the last one coming in 2020.

The Royals are two-time champions, with their wins coming in 2014 and 2019 when they were named the ‘Tridents.’

The Amazon Warriors won their first title last year after being beaten finalists five times from 2013-2019.

With all that in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of the key players for each franchise heading into the business end of the tournament.

Guyana Amazon Warriors

Shimron Hetmyer

The 27-year-old left-hander has had an excellent season with the bat for the defending champions. The former West Indies U-19 World Cup-winning captain scored 353 runs in 10 innings at an average of 39.22 and a phenomenal strike rate of 186.77.

He hit four fifties including a highest score of 91 against the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots on September 3. Against the Kings, Hetmyer hit 58 in their second-to-last game of the league phase and will hope that form carries over to Wednesday’s game.

Gudakesh Motie and Imran Tahir

On those spin-friendly pitches in Guyana, the Amazon Warriors will need their spin twins Gudakesh Motie and Imran Tahir to shine with the ball. They’ve both been in excellent form this season with 31 wickets between them.

Motie’s 16 wickets have come at an average of 14.37 while Tahir’s 15 have come at 16.37.

St. Lucia Kings

Johnson Charles

The no nonsense right-hander has always had a reputation of being a hit or miss type of batsman. This season, he’s been doing more of the former. He scored the third most runs this season with 366 in 10 innings at an average of 40.66 and a strike rate of 152.50. He’s had scores of 19 and 12 against the Amazon Warriors this season and will be hoping to make a significant contribution against them on Wednesday.

Noor Ahmad

Still only 19-year-old, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers this season with a tournament-leading 18 wickets in 10 matches at an average of just 13.16. In his two outings against the Amazon Warriors, he recorded figures of 3-22 and 2-26 and should get a lot of assistance from the pitch in Guyana on Wednesday.

Trinbago Knight Riders

Nicholas Pooran

2024 has been a phenomenal year in T20 cricket for Nicholas Pooran. He recently broke Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan’s record for most T20 run scored in a calendar year and followed that up with a brilliant 101 in his team’s final league phase game against the Amazon Warriors on Sunday.

In total, Pooran finished with 413 runs in 10 innings at an average of 45.88 and a strike rate of 174.26. In his two games against Tuesday opponents the Royals this season, he recorded scores of 35 and 27.

Waqar Salamkheil

The second Afghan left-arm wrist spinner on this list, Salamkheil has been the Knight Riders’ strike bowler this season with Sunil Narine missing the final four games of the league phase. The 22-year-old took 15 wickets in 10 games at an average of 21.73 with his best figures of 3-13 coming against the Royals in Bridgetown on September 12.

Barbados Royals

Quinton de Kock

One of the premier T20 batsmen in the world over the last few years, the South African has shown his class all season for the Royals. His 434 runs in 10 innings at an average of 54.25 put him at the top of the list for most runs. The Royals have been heavily reliant on de Kock’s production this season as he is the only Royals batsman in the top 15. He also had the highest individual score this season, 115 against the Amazon Warriors in Bridgetown on September 13.

Maheesh Theekshana

In his first CPL season, the Sri Lankan mystery spinner has been the best performing bowler for the Royals. He played all 10 games, taking 15 wickets at an impressive economy of just 5.87 and an average of 15.26.

All the matches can be viewed live on Sportsmax and the Sportsmax app.

The top two sides in this year’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) duked it out in Providence, with the reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors winning by a sizeable 35 run margin against their nearest rivals at the top of the table, Saint Lucia Kings.

Warriors captain Imran Tahir won the toss and elected to bat on home turf in Guyana. The daytime match wicket was thought to be a tricky one for free scoring, but the Warriors put on a confident display, breaching the 200 mark to finish on 207/7 from their 20 overs.

Shai Hope, with 56 off 31 balls, including five sixes and two fours, and Player of the Match Shimron Hetmyer, who topscored with a 30-ball 58 that had nine fours and a solitary maximum, led the way for the Warriors.

Faf du Plessis, with an unbeaten 92 off 59 balls batted through the entire inning, and at various stages he looked to be suffering from cramps as the Kings failed to chase down the target.

It was a true captain’s knock from the South African, who smashed seven fours and four sixes in over an hour and a half at the crease. Sadly for him, no other King's batsman could stick around long enough to give a better fight.

Only Alzarri Joseph (25* off 21 balls) allowed du Plessis to have some solidity at the other end and he set about hauling his side to a more respectable total and making sure that their net run rate was not too badly damaged. Finishing on 172/7 and batting out all of their overs in the end, the 35 run loss marked an achievement of sorts for the Kings after it earlier looked like they would go down by a considerable amount more.

With the win, the Warriors reclaimed the top sport in the standings on 14 points with a game in hand. They will take on Trinbago Knight Riders on Sunday in the final preliminary round fixture to determine the final placings heading into the playoff showdowns still to come.

Trinbago Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard is happy with where his team is ahead of the 2024 Caribbean Premier League playoffs set to begin on October 1 in Guyana.

With two games left for them in the preliminary phase of the tournament, the four-time champions have a record of five wins and three losses in their eight games.

“From a performance perspective, we’ve played eight games. Won five, lost three. We’ll take that. The first step in any tournament is to qualify. If we were in fifth place or sixth place it’d be a different conversation. You expect this to happen. It’s T20 cricket,” Pollard said in a press conference on Thursday ahead of their game against the Barbados Royals at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Friday.

“Given all the obstacles that we’ve had transpire throughout this season, we’ll take where we are at this particular time. We have an opportunity to finish in the top two. We still have to play good, consistent cricket,” he added.

The major obstacle that Pollard referred to in his comments on Thursday was the number of injuries that have hampered his team’s ability to field their best eleven consistently throughout their eight outings.

“Throughout the entire tournament we’ve been hampered by injuries. We have not mentioned what sort of injuries we’ve had throughout and we’ve had to sort of chop and change. That might’ve caused a lot of discussion amongst fans as to why this one and that one is not playing but we had to battle that,” he said.

Nevertheless, Pollard commended his team for their performance despite the circumstances.

“The way how the guys have battled forward through injuries, coming in at the late stages, we have to commend them for their efforts,” he said.

The Knight Riders and the Royals have met 24 times in the past with the Knight Riders holding a 15-9 edge.

Their last meeting came on September 13 when the Knight Riders won a thriller by two wickets with one ball remaining at the Kensington Oval.

The Knight Riders, currently fourth in the standings with 10 points, could secure a top two spot with wins in their final two games over the Royals and the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

“It’s known in the dressing room what needs to be done and hopefully, all the experience that we have and the exuberance of the youth as well will come forth and we’ll be able to finish the tournament a lot more consistently,” Pollard said.

As St Lucia prepared to celebrate the immense achievements of its sprint queen Julien Alfred, the island’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise, St Lucia Kings, ensured they were not left out, as players dedicated a dominant win over Trinidad and Tobago Knight Riders to the double Olympic medallist.

The Kings got the celebrations started on “Juju Arrival Day” on Tuesday with the 80-run win over TKR at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, to move into pole position on the CPL standings on 14 points.

Johnson Charles with a dazzling 89 set up the win as his 40-ball knock, which had eight sixes and seven fours, propelled the Kings to 218-6. They later restricted their host to 138-9.

Man of the Match, Charles, dedicated the victory to Alfred, who copped 100m gold and 200m silver at the Paris Olympic Games, a first for St Lucia. Prior to that, Alfred also became the first St Lucian to cop a World Indoor 60m title.

The 23-year-old returned to the island on Tuesday for the first time since her Olympic exploits.

“This one was dedicated to Julien “Juju” Alfred. Today (Tuesday) is our homecoming [for] our Olympic gold and silver medalist... so this one was dedicated to her. Thank you Juju for bringing home the gold and silver medal. We appreciate it. This one’s for you,” Charles said.

Head coach Daren Sammy commended his team for a solid all-around performance and was particularly pleased with the team’s execution with the ball.

“218 after losing the toss was really commendable. But what was even more commendable is the way my men in the hot sun, the bowlers, went and stuck to the plan.

“I thought Captain Faf was excellent with his matchups, making sure the right bowlers are bowling to the right matchups and exactly how we planned, it is exactly how we executed,” Sammy noted.

The Kings will aim to close out the preliminary round on a high when they face Guyana Amazon Warriors on Saturday ahead of the much-anticipated playoffs.

Saint Lucia Kings laid down an imposing marker to the other three sides to make the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) playoffs as they racked up 218 runs off their twenty overs and reduced the Trinbago Knight Riders to 138/9 to win by 80 runs and remain top of the latest standings.

It could have been a heavier defeat than it was for the Knight Riders as Kings Captain Faf Du Plessis and his opening partner Johnson Charles smashed the ball to all parts in Tarouba. A 145 run opening partnership saw the ball flying to the boundary multiple times, which perhaps also explained why the first innings took over two hours to complete.

The Knight Riders were made to do plenty of leather chasing and had to wait until the thirteenth over before they could ‘celebrate’ a wicket – Charles departing for a magnificent 89 – caught by a juggling Chris Jordan on the long on boundary off a Jayden Seales slower ball.

Du Plessis made a half century of his own and after he was out – caught on the leg side fence off the impressive Kieron Pollard – Tim Seifert hit 30 off 17 balls to get the Kings over 200. The Kings scoring rate did slow up towards the end, with just 45 runs coming off the last five overs.

Pollard was the pick of the Knight Riders bowlers and came to fore admirably in the absence of Sunil Narine, 4/38 in the circumstances constituted excellent figures and meant his side had a chance of chasing down a still sizeable target.

The Knight Riders never really got close. Losing regular wickets in the first half of their innings saw them reduced to 56/6 as Noor Ahmed’s left arm wrist spin picked up the engine room of Tim David, Akeal Hossein and Andre Russell without any damage incurred.

Jason Roy stayed resolute and started to chip away at the total but when he was brilliantly caught and bowled by Shadrack Descarte in the 14th over and Chris Jordan was removed by David Wiese in the following over the game had gone out of sight for the Knight Riders.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots captain Andre Fletcher was straightforward with his words after his side ended their CPL 2024 campaign with a ninth defeat in a row at the hands of Trinbago Knight Riders in Tarouba on Sunday.

Yesterday alone, they dropped Nicholas Pooran at least four times. The in form left-hander then led a chase of 194 with an unbeaten 93 off 43 balls.

According to ESPNCricinfo logs, the Patriots had at least 23 dropped catches throughout their 10 games this season.

"The guys [bowlers] executed well and dropping five catches in a crucial game, especially a world-class player as Pooran…I know, but not many people know, we dropped 28 catches in the tournament," Fletcher told ESPNCricinfo.

"As a fielding team, it's poor, way below poor. It actually cost us a lot of games, which we lost."

Despite their retched form as a team this season, Fletcher praised his team-mates for having each other's back through the tournament.

Across the last two seasons, the Patriots have a record of two wins against 18 losses.

"Knowing that it was a bit hard and tough for us losing, but tried to keep the team together as much as possible. We had a lot of team-bonding activities. Yes, as much as we weren't showing it on the field, but sometimes when teams lose, you tend to have a lot of bickering in the team, but we never had that. We stuck together and we gelled as a team and it's just sad that the result didn't show. But I must say that we stick as a family,” he said.

"Just want to apologise to the St Kitts and Nevis fans. I know you guys are hurt, so am I. Unfortunately, we didn't get it well this year, hopefully, next year it will be better," he added.

Individually, the 36-year-old had a productive tournament with the bat, scoring 318 runs in ten innings at an average of 31.80 and strike rate of just under 150.

Along the way, Fletcher became the highest run-getter in the history of the CPL, but Johnson Charles, whose team has made the playoffs, has a chance to surpass him.

"I'm very pleased, to be honest, [with my batting]," Fletcher said. "People tend to remember the last thing you do. I really wanted to come out here and show what I'm worth. I'm happy to put on a great total for the team but unfortunately, we didn't get over the line. But that's how cricket goes at times."

Top of the table Barbados Royals played a match to forget in Providence as they scored 96/9 in a match that saw them well beaten by 7 wickets by the St. Lucia Kings at Providence on Saturday.

The win means the Kings have now secured a spot in the 2024 CPL Playoffs.

The Royals elected to bat first upon winning the toss but Alzarri Joseph soon had them ruing that decision as he sent Quinton de Kock’s bails flying skywards with a delicious in-ducker that started the struggles from which the Royals never recovered.

Wickets fell steadily as Joseph and Roston Chase impressed with the ball in hand for the Kings, taking seven wickets between them as the Royals only just managed to bat out their overs – largely thanks to some lower order resistance from Keshav Maharaj and Maheesh Theekshana.

Johnson Charles was caught and bowled by Jason Holder as the Kings set about hauling in the total and secure the win that would see them book a place in the latter stages of the tournament. Faf du Plessis looked good for his 26 off 19 balls before attempting to open the shoulders to Maharaj and being stumped by de Kock, but in truth, the Kings never looked in any trouble.

Roston Chase and Tim Seifert made 39 and 21 respectively to knock off the runs with 37 balls remaining. Alzarri Joseph was duly awarded the Player of the Match award for laying the groundwork with his four wickets earlier in the piece.

It was an off day for the Royals who have looked imperious for most of the tournament so far. They’ll have to dust themselves down with the 2024 competition heading towards the final stages and a handful of teams seemingly hitting peak form at just the right time.

Guyana Amazon Warriors inflicted a seventh defeat on the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in this year’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), running out winners by 30 runs in Providence to boost their own chances of progression in this year’s competition.

Electing to field first the Patriots restricted their opponents to 137/8, Ashmead Nedd impressing with four wickets including bagging both openers Tim Robinson and Kevin Sinclair for ducks. Tabraiz Shamsi’s flight and guile kept the Warriors tied down too, only 13 runs were scored off his left-arm wrist spin and the South African removed both Moeen Ali and Shimron Hetmyer.

Hetmyer took a liking to the rest of the Patriots bowling however, a decisive and destructive innings of 63 off just 33 balls saw him scoop Player of the Match.

Despite a dogged 49 off 46 balls from Evin Lewis at the top of the order the Patriots never truly looked like pulling off the victory. Moeen Ali caused all sorts of problems with the ball and the Patriots  left themselves with too many runs to chase in the latter half of the innings and a the chance to pull off only their second victory in the competition eluded them.

Rilee Rossouw’s run-out in the 15th over seemed to extinguish the last vestiges of hope and Shamar Joseph was clinical for the Warriors, a rapid spell of fast bowling saw him end up with 3/9 in just 2.3 overs.

“Words can’t explain how great it is to play at home, knowing you have the support of everyone – it’s just amazing,” said Hetmyer after the match. He was particularly impressed with the performance of Joseph.  “I think it was only a matter of time for him to start picking wickets. He is an exceptional bowler; we have already seen it in his short career so far. He is really exciting and all he has to do is just keep doing what he is doing and sky is the limit for him.”

A solid performance sees the Guyana Amazon Warriors keep their hopes of retaining the title they won last year very much alive.

The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has launched an incentive scheme for ground staff at the host venues across the region. The scheme will provide a cash payment of US$5,000 for each location to be shared amongst the ground staff at each venue to reward them for their hard work in providing pitches and outfields that produce entertaining cricket.

The criteria by which this incentive will be awarded are based on the presentation, look and feel of the pitch square and the outfield, and the performance of the pitches used during that leg of the tournament.

The performance will be measured by the consistency of pace and bounce of pitches, the quality of the outfield, and the achievement of average first-inning scores of more than 160.

Michael Hall, CPL’s Tournament Operations Director, said: “One of the many ways that cricket is so unique is the reliance on ground conditions for how the match unfolds. The ground staff teams across CPL venues work tirelessly to produce the best possible facilities for the cricketers who take part in our league. I am very pleased that we can find a way to reward this hard work with this incentive scheme.”

West Indies legend Brian Lara believes Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) can justify favouritism in this year's Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament provided the team’s pedigree and cohesiveness stand out among their rivals.

Lara’s views came during the launch of his book on Tuesday and ahead of the Trinbago Knight Riders’ almighty clash with reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Queen's Park Oval on Wednesday.

While noting that the Twin Island Republic’s franchise boasts a deep squad of high-quality players, which makes them favourites, Lara pointed out that it is their performances that will account for whether or not they take home the title this season.

“I think obviously TKR will stand up as favourites every time,” Lara declared.

“When you look at the quality of players in the team, you would think they should go on to win. But again, in the past, we've seen the team that plays better win. It's not how many superstars you have,” he added.

With three wins and one loss so far this campaign, Trinbago Knight Riders currently sit fourth on six points, four points behind leaders Barbados Royals, who have played two games more. St Lucia Kings on eight points and Guyana Amazon Warriors on six points occupy the other playoff positions.

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons (four points) and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (two points) are fifth and sixth, respectively.

Being the only franchise to win the tournament four times—2015 as Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, 2017, 2018, and 2020—Lara is of no doubt that Trinbago Knight Riders can add to their tally.

However, he stressed that it will take more than just talk and quality on paper.

“What we're hoping for with TKR is that togetherness. Individuals may win you a match, but teams win tournaments,” Lara reasoned.

“I'm hoping captain Kieron Pollard will keep the guys together; they work hard, be humble, and get the victory that's necessary,” he noted.

With both the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Guyana Amazon Warriors showing some degree of consistency so far this season, Wednesday’s clash is expected to be a humdinger to kickstart the former’s home leg of fixtures.

England all-rounder Chris Jordan will bolster the Knight Riders bowling attack as he replaces the injured American Ali Khan.

But the Amazon Warriors have also strengthened their bowling attack with the inclusion of Australian leg spinner Nathan Sowter, who temporarily replaces captain Imran Tahir, recovering from an injury.

England international Chris Jordan will join the Trinbago Knight Riders for the remainder of the 2024 season.

The experienced all-rounder will replace USA international Ali Khan who was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

Jordan previously represented the Knight Riders in the 2019 edition of the CPL, taking seven wickets in five matches.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors have signed leg spinner Nathan Sowter as a temporary replacement for Imran Tahir who is currently recovering from injury and is expected to be unavailable for around 10 days.

Terrance Hinds smashed a six off the penultimate delivery as Trinbago Knight Riders ended Barbados Royals’ unbeaten record in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) after a nerve-jangling two-wicket victory at Kensington Oval on Friday.

Chasing 157, the Knight Riders needed 11 runs off the final over and appeared headed for defeat when Akeal Hosein fell off the third delivery with six runs still required.

But Jason Holder bowled a waist high full toss and on the subsequent delivery Hinds whacked a six down the ground off the free hit. The Knight Riders now move alongside the Royals with a 3-1 record.

The Royals had struggled to handle Knight Riders’ spinners and managed to post 156/7 thanks to an unbeaten 59 from 38 balls from skipper Rovman Powell.

The Knight Riders, last year’s finalists, elected to field and looked to continue their dominance over the Royals having beaten them twice last season.

The Royals made a disastrous start when opener Rahkeem Cornwall made his third straight duck after falling off the second delivery of the innings. Hosein struck again just two balls later when he trapped Alick Athanaze for a duck.

Quinton de Kock and Rivaldo Clarke consolidated before the South African was knocked over by a perfect wrong’un from Waqar Salamkheil to halt the Royals, who soon lost Holder for a duck.

The Royals struggled for boundaries in the middle overs before David Miller collared Hosein with a massive six over extra cover in the 13th over. Miller’s cameo ended at the hands of Salamkheil, who finished with a superb 3/13.

Powell had little of the strike before taking over with a slew of sixes, including off seamer Jayden Seales in the last over to reach his half-century in style.

The Knight Riders, who had strategised chasing amid dewy conditions, similarly had a poor start when Sunil Narine holed out to spinner Maheesh Theekshana on the first ball.

Opener Jason Roy started with a couple of glorious drives before being bamboozled by Theekshana to leave the contest delicately poised. After a brief rain delay, Shaqkere Parris was dropped on nine by Holder off Theekshana as Nicholas Pooran took control to steady the Knight Riders.

But his breezy 23-ball 35 ended with a spectacular double act in the deep when Powell caught the ball before flicking it to Holder just before he went over the boundary.

Parris had support from Keacy Carty as the Knight Riders appeared well on track needing 51 off 36 balls. The reintroduction of Theekshana in the 15th over did the trick as he lured Parris into a false shot triggering a collapse from the Knight Riders.

It set up a grandstand finish until Hinds’ late heroics stunned the local fans.

Nyeem Young kept his composure at the death as Barbados Royals broke the hearts of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots with a thrilling two-wicket victory in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The Royals appeared set for a crushing win when they reduced the Patriots to 0/3 before weathering a rapid 82-run partnership between Wanindu Hasaranga and Mikyle Louis.

After restricting the Patriots to 153/8 at Warner Park, the Royals lost Rahkeem Cornwall and Quinton de Kock early and the match was at a knife’s edge throughout a nerve-jangling chase.

Needing eight runs off the last over bowled by Ryan John, the Royals’ nerves heightened when Jason Holder fell off the first ball after a superb catch at deep backward square by Josh Clarkson.

But Young luckily inside edged to the boundary off the third ball before smashing a brilliant six over mid-off on the penultimate delivery as the Royals won consecutive games to start the season

It was their fifth straight victory against the Patriots, who are at the foot of the table with just one win.

The Patriots made a poor start after being sent in to bat when their top three batters were dismissed for ducks—the first time that has occurred in CPL history.

Spinner Maheesh Theekshana started the carnage on the second ball of the innings when he pinned Evin Lewis lbw. Two balls later, Theekshana produced a cracking delivery that spun sharply and through the defences of Kyle Mayers, who trudged off in disbelief.

The Patriots lost their third wicket when Andre Fletcher was lbw to Dunith Wellalage before the match suddenly flipped through a counterattack from Hasaranga and Louis as the Royals suddenly struggled for control amid an onslaught.

Naveen-ul-Haq was on the receiving end and leaked 16 runs to cap a madcap PowerPlay.

But Louis holed out in the ninth over leading to another collapse where the Patriots also lost Sherfane Rutherford and Hasaranga in the space of six balls.

It could have been worse for the Patriots when Clarkson was given out lbw to Theekshana before he successfully reviewed. Clarkson struggled to get going, but batted through to the end and received support from John who smacked 29 off 14 balls.

Just like the Patriots, the Royals lost a wicket on the second ball after Mayers knocked over Cornwall for a duck. Speedster Anrich Nortje had compatriot de Kock wincing in pain after a blow to the body before the batter hit back with a six over fine leg.

De Kock was cleaned bowled in the fifth over by Mayers, who had patiently persisted around the wicket.

Wellalage battled calmly through the middle overs before Young’s late heroics sealed a thrilling triumph for the Royals.