EVIN Lewis was unstoppable at Warner Park, St Kitts, on Saturday night, smashing an unbeaten century to guide St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to a clear lead in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League standings with an eight-wicket victory over former leader Trinbago Knight Riders.
Lewis was complemented by a strong bowling attack from TT compatriot Jon-Russ Jaggesar with the Patriots leapfrogging over the TKR, ahead of a mouth-watering second clash between the two teams carded for the same time at the same venue on Sunday.
On Saturday, Lewis moved to second place in the tournament’s top scorers chart with his brilliant run, which included 11 sixes.
Jaggesar took three wickets, including early back-to-back dismissals of Colin Munro and skipper Keiron Pollard. Dominic Drakes also took three wickets, and along with Jaggesar finished with a respectable economy rate.
Patriots, winning the toss and opting to field first, appeared to be on the back foot early on when Lendl Simmons smashed a six from the first delivery.
The TKR, however, never settled in and were just 28/2 after six overs Simmons and Denesh Ramdin were dismissed for 11 and 10 runs, respectively.
Not long after, Munro and Kieron Pollard were scalped by back-to-back Jaggesar deliveries.
[caption id="attachment_912586" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jon Russ Jaggesar of Saint Kitts & Nevis Patriots celebrates the dismissal of Colin Munro of Trinbago Knight Riders during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League match 27 at Warner Park Sporting Complex on Saturday, in Basseterre, St Kitts - Photo courtesy CPL T20[/caption]
After starting the previous match, Sunil Narine was moved midway up the order and smashed four crucial sixes en route to an unbeaten 33 runs. Narine was, in vain, effective on the ball, conceding only ten runs from his four overs. No other TKR bowler
Munro once again led the TKR with 47 runs and ended the day as the fifth top scorer in the league.
Munro, speaking on-field, said the TKR hadn’t gotten carried away with its recent form.
“We’re just worried about (taking each game) one at a time.,” he said.
“With (Saturday’s results) there are a couple more teams on ten points. We could change some things around but we have to take it one game at a time.”
The Patriots now lead the standings with 12 points, effectively sealing a spot in Tuesday’s semifinal, followed by the TKR, standing on ten points, joint with the Guyana Amazon Warriors and St Lucia Kings, both of which also recorded victories on Saturday. Jamaica Tallawahs are on eight points, while Barbados Tridens are last with four points.
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