On this day in 2021: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots lift their first CPL title

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SNP) made history as they defeated St Lucia Kings (SLK) in a thrilling final of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021 at Warner Park in Basseterre, to claim their first CPL title.

Talking about the match, the Kings won the toss and chose to bat in a high-pressure game. Despite losing wickets at crucial stages of the match, the Kings from St Lucia posted a decent total of 159/7 on the board in their allotted 20 overs.

For the batting side, star all-rounders Roston Chase and Rahkeem Cornwall stroked 43 runs each while Keemo Paul also made a valuable contribution as he scored 39 runs and helped his team to score a competitive total for their team.

For the Patriots, leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed scalped two crucial wickets but gave away 32 runs. Express pacer from Pakistan, Naseem Shah was simply excellent as he also took two wickets and gave away only 26 runs in his four-over quota.

Chasing exactly 160, the Patriots managed to clinch the trophy in a nail-biting finish with batter Dominic Drakes turning out to be the hero with the bat. The left-handed batter scored 48 off 24 to help his side claim their maiden CPL title. Apart from Drakes, Joshua Da Silva (37), Sherfane Rutherford (25), and Fabian Allen (20) chipped in with vital scores during the Patriot’s successful chase.

Drakes was named Player of the Match while Chase was adjudged Player of the Tournament. The right-handed batter stroked 446 runs in the competition at an excellent average of 49.56 and a strike rate of 144.34. The left-handed batter Evin Lewis was given the ‘Most sixes in the competition’ award after he smashed as many as 38 sixes in CPL 2021.