St Lucia Kings captain Faf du Plessis expressed his delight after leading his team to their maiden Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title on Sunday night, overcoming the defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in a thrilling final. Chasing a target of 139, the Kings were in a precarious position at 51-4, but a crucial 88-run partnership between Aaron Jones and Roston Chase guided the Darren Sammy-coached franchise to a memorable six-wicket victory at the Providence Stadium.

The Kings’ captain, visibly elated after securing the long-awaited title, emphasized the significance of the win for the franchise. “This franchise has been looking to get that trophy for a long time. Against this opposition, in front of a big crowd—there's no bigger place to play a final,” du Plessis said, acknowledging the challenging nature of the contest. “I would have liked it a bit easier, to be honest!”

Du Plessis praised the Kings’ bowling unit for their disciplined performance, which restricted the Warriors to 138-8. He highlighted the importance of a positive mindset when chasing what was initially thought to be a competitive total. “I was very happy with the bowling. It was a decent decision [at the toss]. We were very positive to get that score. In our minds, we wanted to play very positively.”

 The match turned dramatically in the 16th over of the Kings' chase, when Aaron Jones unleashed a ferocious onslaught, smashing 27 runs off Moeen Ali’s over to swing the momentum in his team's favor. Jones, who had been under pressure early in his innings, finished unbeaten on 48 off 31 balls, while Chase played a vital supporting role with 39 from 22 deliveries. Du Plessis lauded the composure shown by both batters under pressure.

 “For Jones and Chase to absorb the pressure was incredible,” du Plessis said. “If you look throughout the competition, there are no superstars here. Just two or three overs made a really big difference. The ball starts to get wet, and that changed things for us.”

 Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Imran Tahir reflected on his team’s defeat, admitting that their struggles with the bat cost them the chance to defend their title. “We didn't start well with the bat. We knew dew was going to come... Tough luck today. I also want to congratulate St Lucia Kings,” Tahir said. “If we batted better, we could have had 170 or 180. That is a good score on this pitch, especially with the spinners we have. Just one over took it away.”

 Tahir praised Romario Shepherd for his late innings contributions with the bat, but rued the missed opportunities by the middle order. “We were putting pressure on them. It could be one more dismissal, and you never know,” he added.

 Meanwhile, Noor Ahmad was named Player of the Tournament after his impressive performances throughout the season, finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker with 22 scalps. Reflecting on the Kings' victory, Ahmad said, “It's quite a special day for us, and for St Lucia. Everyone tried to give their best. We had good planning, and that's what gave us success.”

 Roston Chase, who was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance, expressed his joy at finally winning a CPL title after losing two previous finals. “It's a great feeling. I made two finals and lost... I told Aaron [Jones] that we needed a big over, and luckily we got it,” Chase said, highlighting the pivotal moment in the match when the Kings took control of the game.

 The victory marks a historic moment for the St Lucia Kings, who finally lifted their first CPL trophy after years of close calls. The team, led by du Plessis and guided by head coach Daren Sammy, showcased resilience and skill, etching their name into CPL history in front of a packed Providence crowd.

The St Lucia Kings claimed their first-ever Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title in emphatic fashion on Sunday night, defeating the defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors by six wickets in a thrilling final at Providence Stadium. Aaron Jones and Roston Chase led a remarkable recovery after a shaky start to secure the Kings' maiden title, with Jones delivering a match-winning performance under intense pressure.

Chasing a modest target of 139 on a slow, two-paced surface, the Kings appeared in trouble at 51 for 4, with the Warriors’ spinners dominating proceedings. The Guyana crowd had reached a fever pitch as the Kings struggled to score, going nine overs without a boundary. Roston Chase, battling illness, and Aaron Jones, who was on the verge of being retired out by captain Daren Sammy, faced a relentless attack from Guyana’s four-pronged spin bowling unit, led by Noor Ahmad.

However, the match swung dramatically in the 16th over when Jones, who had crawled to 10 off 19 balls, unleashed a furious assault on Moeen Ali, smashing 27 runs off the over with a series of sixes and fours. His explosive batting ignited the Kings’ chase, turning the tide of the game in their favor. Jones, who finished unbeaten on 48 from 31 balls, shared an unbroken 88-run partnership with Chase, who played a measured innings of 39 off 22 balls, guiding the Kings to victory with 11 balls to spare.

The Kings had been rattled early in their chase when Romario Shepherd removed Johnson Charles for seven. Faf du Plessis, Ackeem Auguste, and Tim Seifert soon followed, leaving the Kings teetering at 51 for 4, with the required run rate climbing. However, Jones and Chase stayed calm, absorbing the pressure before unleashing their onslaught. Jones smashed Dwaine Pretorius for 20 runs in the 17th over, leaving the Kings needing just one run from the final two overs. Imran Tahir’s wide down the leg side sealed the Warriors' fate, handing the Kings a memorable victory.

Reflecting on the win, Chase, who has been with the Kings for five seasons, said: “It means a lot. I’ve been in two finals before, and I made up my mind this morning that I wasn’t going to lose this one.” Meanwhile, Jones, who delivered when it mattered most, added, “We knew playing in the final would be a challenge, but we came out on top. I think of myself as a match-winner.”

Earlier, the Warriors struggled to build momentum after being asked to bat first. They could only muster 27 runs in the powerplay, losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck in the opening over. The St Lucia Kings’ bowlers applied consistent pressure, with Khary Pierre delivering a superb spell of 2-0-6-1 during the powerplay. Alzarri Joseph also tied down the batters with wide lines, while Noor Ahmad (4-0-19-3) was the standout, taking the key wickets of Moeen Ali (14) and Shimron Hetmyer (11), both falling to mistimed shots. Chase also chipped in with the wicket of Shai Hope (22) as the Warriors stumbled to 102 for 7 after 18 overs.

Despite a late surge from Romario Shepherd (18) and Dwaine Pretorius (21), who added 36 runs in the final two overs to push the Warriors to 138-8, the total proved insufficient. Noor Ahmad’s 22 wickets this season placed him just behind CPL legend Dwayne Bravo’s record of most wickets in a single CPL season.

The Kings’ victory marks a significant moment in their CPL journey, as they lifted their first title in franchise history. The triumph was a testament to their resilience and belief, with Aaron Jones’ match-winning innings set to be remembered as one of the most remarkable moments of the 2024 CPL season.

Saint Lucia Kings booked their place in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Final with a 15-run victory over reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in a weather curtailed match at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.

The Warriors will now take on Barbados Royals on Friday with the winner of that match contesting the final with Kings on Sunday.

Winning the toss and batting first proved a wise decision given the forecast and Faf du Plessis led from the front once more for his side. An opening stand of 124 runs between himself and Johnson Charles ensured the Kings posted a challenging total of 198-5 off their twenty overs.

Charles was starting to eye up a three-figure score when he was well caught on the long-on boundary by Keemo Paul off the bowling of Moeen Ali for 79 off 45 deliveries. Du Plessis then fell for a well-made half-century of his own, the Kings captain forced to depart after Rahmanullah Gurbaz held on to an exceptional catch from a firmly hit shot down the ground off Shamar Joseph.

The Warriors bowlers did well to keep the score down to a manageable target with Moeen Ali once again being the standout performer with the ball, figures of 2/24 off his four overs showcasing all his experience.

In response, the Warriors had reached 106-4 at the end of the 13th over before the persistent drizzle turned into heavier rain and the players were taken off the field by the umpires. Unfortunately for the 2023 CPL champions it then did not relent meaning that they were behind the required run rate on DLS calculations when the match was called off over an hour later.

Still requiring 92 runs off the remaining 42 deliveries when the weather intervened the Warriors would have still fancied their chances of hauling down the total with a well-set Shimron Hetmyer looking dangerous with 37 off 18 balls and with Moeen Ali having just joined him.

Hetmyer had just opened his shoulders to hit four sixes in quick succession off Noor Ahmad and Roston Chase, despite this injection of runs the Warriors were comfortably behind the required DLS score of 121 when the rain decisively intervened.

The Warriors will have a chance of setting up a re-match with a victory over Barbados Royals in the final eliminator match on Friday evening. Saint Lucia Kings will await either side in Sunday’s final with an inaugural CPL title very much in their sights.

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.

Saint Lucia Kings continued their impressive start to the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a dominant seven-wicket victory over Antigua & Barbuda Falcons Tuesday night.

Chasing 143 in Antigua, captain Faf du Plessis got the Kings off to a flier before they romped to the target with 18 balls to spare. It was a far less eventful chase for Kings than their remarkable season opening win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. But it was more heartache for the Falcons, who suffered a fourth straight defeat in their debut season. The home side were unable to capitalize on a promising start from new opening partners Fakhar Zaman and Justin Greaves as their innings fell away after the PowerPlay.

Left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad starred with 3-18 to restrict Falcons to a modest 142-7 - the lowest total in the CPL this season. Assistant coach Curtly Ambrose provided a passionate rallying cry for his team, but the Falcons attack struggled against the Kings' firepower as opener Johnson Charles anchored the innings with an unbeaten 47 off 46 balls.

A desperate Falcons had been sent in to bat in windy conditions. Greaves, in his season debut, tried to provide a tonic and smashed a second ball boundary while Zaman soon found his rhythm with a stunning straight six off seamer Matthew Forde. But their blossoming 35-run partnership was broken when Zaman was well caught by a running Khary Pierre, who shortly afterwards clean bowled Kofi James.

Pierre continued to be part of the action when he caught a skier from Greaves, who fell on 36 after he gamely tried to hit into the breeze.

The Falcons were shackled by disciplined bowling in the middle overs, unable to hit boundaries as their innings flamed out.

Du Plessis made batting look easy and whacked quick Shamar Springer for three boundaries and a six in the second over. He smashed 28 in his first 11 deliveries before falling in the first over from spinner Imad Wasim.

The wicket of du Plessis and a brief rain delay at North Sound did not stop Kings' momentum as Charles and Bhanuka Rajapaksa bludgeoned monstrous sixes. Captain Chris Green took it upon himself to revive the Falcons with the wicket of Rajapaksa in the eighth over.

But in Green's next over when he dropped a return chance to reprieve Ackeem Auguste on the last ball before drinks. A rampant Tim Seifert finished off the match in style with a six as Kings made an early season statement.

Aggresive New Zealand opener Finn Allen hit the third hundred of his T20 career to propel the San Francisco Unicorns to a win over the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday to advance to the Major League Cricket final.

The 25-year-old Allen put the Super Kings to the sword in Friday's Challenger to help his side make 200-6 off their 20 overs after being inserted by Super Kings skipper Faf du Plessis.

Allen faced 53 balls and hit nine fours and five sixes on his way to 101 and was supported well by Australian wicket-keeper/batsman Josh Inglis who hit 37 off 25 balls including two fours and a six.

Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad snagged 3-27 from his four overs for the Super Kings.

Then, despite unbeaten fifties from both Devon Conway and Joshua Tromp, TSK fell agonizingly short of a spot in the final, finishing 190-4 from their 20 overs.

Conway led the way with 62* off 38 balls including four fours and two sixes while Tromp hit five fours and two sixes on his way to a 36-ball 56*.

Captain du Plessis had earlier made 45 off 22 balls.

Conway and Tromp got together at 90-4 in the 10^th over and tried their best with a 100-run partnership but the runs proved to be just enough for the Unicorns.

The Unicorns will now square off with the Washington Freedom in Sunday’s final, also being played at the Grand Prairie Stadium.

The pair met on Thursday in the qualifier where the Freedom chased down 146 in 15.3 overs to book their spot in the final.

Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah led India to a 47-run defeat of Italy at the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

India started their Super 8s campaign in style in Barbados, with Suryakumar's 28-ball 53 propelling them to 181-8 from their 20 overs.

Virat Kohli added 24, with Hardik Pandya contributing a useful 30 too, though Fazalhaq Farooqi, the tournament's leading wicket-taker, finished with impressive figures of 3-33.

Yet Farooqi was outshone by Bumrah, who was the star of India's bowling attack.

Bumrah took 3-7 as he skittled through Afghanistan's top order, reducing them to 23-3 inside five overs.

Arshdeep Singh (3-36) rounded matters off, sending Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq and Noor Ahmad packing to bowl Afghanistan all out for 134.

The victory sent India to the top of Group One, ahead of Australia's clash with Bangladesh.

Data Debrief: More history for Kohli

Kohli might have taken a backseat in this win, but his haul of 24 saw him move onto 4,066 runs in T20Is.

That makes Kohli India's record run scorer in the format, with the 35-year-old having surpassed Rohit Sharma (4,050).

St Lucia Kings have signed South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen and Afghanistan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad for the 2024 edition of the Caribbean Premier League 2024 ahead of the player draft.

Faf du Plessis, whose stint with Kings last year was cut short due to injury, has been retained. Namibia allrounder David Wiese and Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa are also among the overseas retainees.

Kings have 12 confirmed players for the season and will have five spots to fill at the draft in July.

They have retained the core of Caribbean players, which includes Johnson Charles, Alzarri Joseph, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde and Khary Pierre. Fast bowlers Shadrack Descarte and McKenny Clarke round out their retentions.

Colin Munro, who was named du Plessis' replacement last year, has been released as have Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams and Chris Sole.

Klaasen has been in phenomenal form in T20s since 2023. He finished as the second-highest run-getter in the SA20 earlier this year and was in top form in the IPL as well with 479 runs in 16 games. His strike rate in the format since 2023 is 176.80. This will be Klaasen's second stint in the CPL, having represented Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2022 where he made 118 runs in five games.

Kings made their fourth consecutive playoffs spot in 2023 but lost in the Eliminator against Jamaica Tallawahs.

The 2024 edition of the CPL is set to run from August 30 to October 7. Kings will open their campaign against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on September 1 in Basseterre.