171/4 (18.2)
CR : 9.33
169/9 (20.0)
CR : 8.45
St Lucia Kings won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Matthew Forde
5/23
8 AM IST, 10:30 PM Local Time: St Lucia Kings win by 6 Wickets! This has been a fine chase from the St Lucia Kings. They were in control of the match in the first half of the first innings. They lost a bit of control over the next phase of the game but quickly regained it on the back of some fine ball striking by the likes of Kamil Pooran, John Campbell and Obus Pienaar. They finish a rather ordinary home leg with a crucial win.
Player of the Match: Matthew Forde
Matthew Forde (POTM): "[The energy from the crowd] Honestly, I just want to thank the crowd. We owe it to them. I am very happy to get a win for them.
[What worked for him tonight?] Well, obviously for me it is about sticking to that six to eight meters length. You know, there are some games where it is not going to work but for me, if it happens three out of five games. It is just about keeping myself in check for the other two games and keep myself grounded. And you know, trusting the process, trusting my abilities. You know, there's so much planning that goes on behind the scenes as well. It is really nice to see those plans work and we came up with a win.
[On having two home places in a tournament] No, obviously. St Lucia is my second home. I love it here, the only place I would rather be other than Barbados. To have my family here, my dad is in the stands as well. I just want to give a shout-out to him. He's always here for every game. I love you, big guy. But yeah, I'm getting goosebumps now because there's no better feeling than playing at home and playing in front of your home people. For me, whether it's a bad performance or a good performance, if I dwell on it at night, by the morning time it's about, "What are you going to do again to get better?" So for me, yes, I got five wickets. I want to thank God, firstly, but for me, it goes through the window and then work starts again in Trinidad all over again. So, really, really, really happy to get going this game and looking forward to what Trinidad brings."
[What worked for him tonight?] Well, obviously for me it is about sticking to that six to eight meters length. You know, there are some games where it is not going to work but for me, if it happens three out of five games. It is just about keeping myself in check for the other two games and keep myself grounded. And you know, trusting the process, trusting my abilities. You know, there's so much planning that goes on behind the scenes as well. It is really nice to see those plans work and we came up with a win.
[On having two home places in a tournament] No, obviously. St Lucia is my second home. I love it here, the only place I would rather be other than Barbados. To have my family here, my dad is in the stands as well. I just want to give a shout-out to him. He's always here for every game. I love you, big guy. But yeah, I'm getting goosebumps now because there's no better feeling than playing at home and playing in front of your home people. For me, whether it's a bad performance or a good performance, if I dwell on it at night, by the morning time it's about, "What are you going to do again to get better?" So for me, yes, I got five wickets. I want to thank God, firstly, but for me, it goes through the window and then work starts again in Trinidad all over again. So, really, really, really happy to get going this game and looking forward to what Trinidad brings."
The St Lucia Kings squad is taking a lap across the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium to thank the home crowd. They have come in numbers and cheered on the top of their lungs for their side. The team recognizes that wholeheartedly.
Rovman Powell (Jamaica Kingsmen Captain): "[On Andre Russell's injury update] Na, he is okay now. He felt a bit dizzy after bowling his third over. He is good now.
[On losing 5 wickets in the powerplay] Yeah, it is very difficult. If you have 5 of your main batters out in the first 6 overs that is chaos. It is a recipe for disaster. That happened tonight. Credit to the guys who stuck out there and gave us a fighting total of 170.
[Was the batting collapse because of the conditions?] I think as a batting group we just did not bat. We came on a wicket that is a good wicket for batting, and we just felt as if we had to play shots from ball one. That set us on the backfoot very early. Credit has to given to Matthew Forde. He bowled really well in the powerplay.
[On Keacy Carty] Yeah definitely. He has been someone we have looked to for anchoring the innings for us. Fortunately for us, tonight he did that.
[On the bowling performance] I think we had a poor game. A poor game in all disciplines. We did not bat properly, and we did not bowl properly. We had our plans as a bowling group. We thought 170 was a fighting total. We needed a few early wickets. We felt as if we were in the game, but it is a matter of execution."
[On losing 5 wickets in the powerplay] Yeah, it is very difficult. If you have 5 of your main batters out in the first 6 overs that is chaos. It is a recipe for disaster. That happened tonight. Credit to the guys who stuck out there and gave us a fighting total of 170.
[Was the batting collapse because of the conditions?] I think as a batting group we just did not bat. We came on a wicket that is a good wicket for batting, and we just felt as if we had to play shots from ball one. That set us on the backfoot very early. Credit has to given to Matthew Forde. He bowled really well in the powerplay.
[On Keacy Carty] Yeah definitely. He has been someone we have looked to for anchoring the innings for us. Fortunately for us, tonight he did that.
[On the bowling performance] I think we had a poor game. A poor game in all disciplines. We did not bat properly, and we did not bowl properly. We had our plans as a bowling group. We thought 170 was a fighting total. We needed a few early wickets. We felt as if we were in the game, but it is a matter of execution."
Roston Chase (St Lucia Kings Captain): "[On the crowd] Oh man, this crowd is amazing. We haven't had the best season so far but they keep coming in to support us. As a team we really wanted to give them this win. We did come here and get the win, we also did a lap of honour and if you see the faces in the crowd, there's pure joy. It was so awesome to see, I just want to thank them for supporting us. Continue to support us through ups and downs and we love them with all our hearts.
[On Matthew Forde] Yeah, that's the thing about powerplay. Sometimes you go well, sometimes you go bad. But I trust him, I trust him with all my confidence. He bowled two overs and got wickets and once he's going there, I am always going to give him that third, he knows that and he delivered for us tonight. Awesome performance.
[On why he didn't bowl Forde four overs on the trot] I needed that over, I don't want to put Goodridge in that position unless I have to. Because we only have two other pacers in Shadely and Forde. I still wanted to hold one back.
[On Pooran and Pienaar] Yeah, amazing knock. He (Pooran) started the tournament well. We have many openers but I like him as an opener. Really well played, we challenge him to bat deep. When he got to 50, he still kept going. Didn't play any rash shots. He wanted to be there till the end. It shows the maturity of the young man.
About Pienaar, coming in for the first time, it looks like he has played a million games here. He seemed a bit nervous but I had faith in him. I just told him to hit with the wind and if he's hitting against the wind, do not hit it too high. Those were the instructions from my side.
[On picking Pienaar ahead of Asalanka] Yeah, because for the past couple of games we have been struggling in the last 5 overs. We figured, we didn't have players who can come to the crease and get it away instantly. We trusted him in that position and give us the power we were lacking for the first four games this season."
[On Matthew Forde] Yeah, that's the thing about powerplay. Sometimes you go well, sometimes you go bad. But I trust him, I trust him with all my confidence. He bowled two overs and got wickets and once he's going there, I am always going to give him that third, he knows that and he delivered for us tonight. Awesome performance.
[On why he didn't bowl Forde four overs on the trot] I needed that over, I don't want to put Goodridge in that position unless I have to. Because we only have two other pacers in Shadely and Forde. I still wanted to hold one back.
[On Pooran and Pienaar] Yeah, amazing knock. He (Pooran) started the tournament well. We have many openers but I like him as an opener. Really well played, we challenge him to bat deep. When he got to 50, he still kept going. Didn't play any rash shots. He wanted to be there till the end. It shows the maturity of the young man.
About Pienaar, coming in for the first time, it looks like he has played a million games here. He seemed a bit nervous but I had faith in him. I just told him to hit with the wind and if he's hitting against the wind, do not hit it too high. Those were the instructions from my side.
[On picking Pienaar ahead of Asalanka] Yeah, because for the past couple of games we have been struggling in the last 5 overs. We figured, we didn't have players who can come to the crease and get it away instantly. We trusted him in that position and give us the power we were lacking for the first four games this season."
The St Lucia Kings have leaped to the top of the table with 3 wins in 6 games. They complete a patchy home leg with a 50% result. They would know though, that the next two teams on the table behind them have played 4 lesser games. The Kings cannot relax and will have to stitch wins regularly as other teams have plenty of time to catch up.
Jamaica Kingsmen on the other hand have lost 4 out of their 6 games. Additionally, they would also be concerned with Andre Russell's fitness. The key all-rounder hobbled off the field and that did not look like a pretty sight. The Kingsmen too as a unit need to get their act right as they get on the road.
More CPL action coming your way tomorrow and this time from Antigua. The Antigua & Barbuda Falcons take on the Trinbago Knight Riders at 4:30 AM IST on 23rd August (7 PM Local Time, 22nd August). Do join us for the live coverage.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Ajay Pal Singh and Dushyant Madhukar Kumar. Stay Happy. Stay Healthy. Stay Safe. Adios!!!