Barbados Royals rode on the masterclass displays of skipper Rovman Powell (67 not out), Qais Ahmad (2/16) and Rahkeem Cornwall (38, 1/23) to upstage St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in their yard by six wickets. The victory meant the Royals were finally off the mark with their first win of CPL 2023.
Earlier, the Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first. SNP openers - Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis - took early advantage of the pace and piled up 35 runs in the first three overs.
Spin does the trick
However, the introduction of Rahkeem Cornwall in the fourth over by captain Rovman Powell came just at the right time. The Antiguan off-break spinner tricked Evin Lewis into paddling his delivery, but it takes a top edge towards Kyle Mayers at short fine leg.
You miss, I hit
That’s Jason Holder's message as he combined with Justin Greaves to run out Joshua Da Silva for just one run. While Andre Fletcher got to safety at his end, his counterpart in Da Silva fell inches short of completing the run.
Double trouble
After stitching a 39-run stand for the third wicket, Andre Fletcher and Shane Rutherford would depart on either side of the 12th and 13th over. While Rutherford (28) gifted his wicket straight to Nyeem Young in a traditional caught-and-bowled dismissal, half-centurion Fletcher was outfoxed by Qais Ahmad for an LBW.
Gatecrashed!
A peach of a delivery by Qais Ahmad took a smooth turn to swirl past the defences of Jyd Goolie (11) and crash through the middle gate. Qais would end his spell with figures of 4-0-16-2, and hey, that’s what you call IMPACT!
A wicket in the 18th over for Nyeem Young and an expensive final over meant SNP ended their innings at 197/6.
A blazing start
A Rahk attack from Cornwall - 38 from 15 balls - and Kyle Mayers’ 19 in his first nine deliveries propelled Barbados Royals to 58/1 in four overs. The Royals would add another 16 runs on the bounce to finish the powerplay at 74/1.
Jason Holder (24) played a confident cameo after Mayers (31) got dismissed in the 7th over. Holder’s 33-run partnership with Alick Athanaze took the score past the 100-run mark and set the tone for a Rovman special.
Welcome to the Rovman Powell Show
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Rovman Powell gave us a royal exhibition of his ability to tank boundaries and sixes for fun. Twenty-nine balls, five fours, five sixes, 67 runs and a strike rate of 231.03 is the carnage the Royals skipper brought on at a full-house Warner Park. Along the way, Powell ran amok in the 17th over, smacking three consecutive sixes that upscaled each other in height.
The result meant Barbados Royals go fourth on the points table with three points. They will now regroup to develop new strategies for an entertaining clash against Trinbago Knight Riders that’s up next on Wednesday, August 30.