Barbados Royals registered a dominating nine-wicket win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in their last Caribbean Premier League 2024 match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Tuesday. The Royals have become the first team to qualify for the playoffs in CPL 2024.
The Royals commanded every department of the match, not allowing the Patriots to settle in even once. First, they demolished the batting line-up to restrict the Patriots to 110, with the main credit going to Rahkeem Cornwall's five-fer. Then, they easily chased down the total in 11.2 overs.
The win solidifies the top spot in the CPL 2024 standings for the Royals and lifts their NRR to +1.470. The Royals won the toss and chose to bowl first. The two changes in the squad were the return of Rahkeem Cornwall and Nyeem Young.
Patriots’ top order falls apart
The Patriots had a decent start before the Barbados bowlers began their masterclass. The Patriots lost both Evin Lewis and Kyle Mayers in the powerplay. Captain Andre Fletcher, however, continued to find boundaries at intervals, before being stumped out off Cornwall’s delivery. The very next ball, Mikyle Louis lost his wicket to Cornwall.
Patriots’ middle order fails to settle
In the next couple of overs, both Rilee Rossouw and Wanindu Hasaranga fell to the Royals’ superb bowling. By the 10th over, the Patriots were languishing at 61/6. By the 14th over, the Patriots had even lost Odean Smith and Ryan John, both to Cornwall’s spin magic.
A short-lived partnership at the end
After that, Joshua Da Silva and Anrich Nortje tried settling in to put a fighting total on the scoreboard. They managed to weave a 39-run partnership before falling to the Royals' pace attack. The Patriots were all out in 19.1 overs.
Cornwall leads the Royals’ bowling charge
The Royals were expected to bowl well and it was Cornwall who led the charge with a five-fer. The 31-year-old produced one of his best performances with the ball, as he ripped through the opposition batters. He also gave a paltry 16 runs off his four overs, ending with a fantastic figure of 5/16.
Cornwall was ably supported by both Naveen-ul-Haq and Obed McCoy, who took three and two wickets, respectively. Even though Maheesh Theekshana didn't take any wickets, he gave away just 18 runs in his four overs.
A strong powerplay by the Royals
The Royals batters had an easy target to chase, but they didn't let overconfidence dampen their efforts. They began strongly but surely. Quinton de Kock was in his quintessential element again, as he led the Royals' charge.
Fellow opener Kadeem Alleyne scored some quick runs before falling for 25 off 15. At the end of the powerplay, the score read 62/1, with the Royals needing just 49 runs to win with 14 overs in hand.
De Kock-Athanaze complete the chase
Alick Athanaze joined de Kock in the middle and continued to build the innings. At the end of 10 overs, the Royals needed just 13 runs, which they easily covered in the next eight balls.
While Athanaze ended with 22* off 15 balls, de Kock high-scored with 59 runs off 38 deliveries, which included four maximums and three boundaries. In 11.2 overs, the Royals handed the Patriots their seventh consecutive loss.
Barbados Royals will be back in action on Saturday when they face Saint Lucia Kings at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. This will be their first meeting of CPL 2024.