END OF OVER:
20 | 7 Runs 2 Wkts | STKNP: 164/9 | RR: 8.20

  • Anrich Nortje4 (3b)
  • Tabraiz Shamsi1 (1b)
  • Roshon Primus2-0-21-2
  • Mohammad Amir4-0-31-1

12:02am That will be a wrap from us for tonight. We will be back with more CPL action soon and we hope to have your company for the next game, featuring the Falcons and the defending champions, the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Until then, this is goodbye from me, Sudeep, Thilak and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Take care, folks!

Andre Fletcher, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots captain: I am happy that we won this game. With the start we got…we had some very soft dismissals (after). We took the game away from them in phases and then brought them back. We have to be a little smarter in our approach. In the powerplay, anything can happen but the real game starts after the powerplay. It (bowling the spinners in tandem) helped us peg them back and I was pleased with the total they scored. (On what he wants from his team) I want us to be positive but at the same time, we have to be smart about it. Enjoy the cricket as much as possible, enjoy each other's success and stick together as a team. Once we do that, we have the personnel to do well.

Chris Green, Antigua & Barbuda Falcons captain: My assessment is we were 10-15 runs short on a good surface. Great start and had a good powerplay but after that, in the next four overs, we only scored 14. Incredibly proud of the fight with the ball at the end. Nice to have some high-pressure moments right at the start (of the tournament). In Antigua, you have to use the dimensions and the breeze. We were trying to keep him (Mayers) off strike but he is a very good player, and he was able to get them ahead. Jewel Andrew is 17 years old and he has really impressed me. To come in and bat the way he did, with that confidence and swagger, it is awesome to see. He will only go from strength to strength. Shamar Springer has improved again from last season. Incredible in the field too.

Kyle Mayers, Player of the Match: It was nail-biting at the end. It was tough. We were patient, hoping that we get across (the line). My mindset was simple. It was a good wicket. I thought if we batted 20 overs, we would get over the line. I played the ends. The breeze was to my advantage (in the 16th over) so I tried to take my chances. (On playing for the Patriots) Great atmosphere, I know most of the guys. Fletcher as skipper, we are very close (to each other).

11:47pm Phew. That was some game. It ebbed one way, before turning the other. The Patriots, when Smith and Mayers were together, seemed in control of the chase. Then, came the collapse. Smith and Rossouw, pushed down to No.6, perished off successive balls and that set the cat among the pigeons. Drakes, who had held his own up until the last over, could not get the job done and that left the door ajar for the Falcons.

Primus, bowling a pressure last over, almost got it done for the Falcons but the two wides he conceded perhaps proved to be the difference. Had those been legal deliveries, the Falcons might have had just enough in the bank to get past the finish line but unfortunately, that was not to be. Prior to that final over, it was the Shamar Springer show for the hosts and his four-wicket haul was vital in dragging the game deep, even if in the end, that proved to be in vain.

19.6
1
Primus to Nortje, 1 run, Nortje wins it for the Patriots, and the Patriots have levelled their win-tally from last season by trumping the Falcons in a final-ball nail-biter! Length on middle and off. Nortje gives Primus the charge again and smears it over the bowler's head. Did not middle it at all, but got enough on it, and that is all that matters at the moment. A thrilling game, involving so many hard-hitting batters and it all came down to the bowlers to do the job!

One run needed. A wicket or a dot and we go into a.....well, you know that already

19.5
2
Primus to Nortje, 2 runs, Nortje levels the scores for the Patriots! Full toss outside off. Nortje dances down the track and scythes it through backward point. Deep point cuts it off but not before Nortje returns for a brace
19.4
1
Primus to Shamsi, 1 run, speared in full on leg stump. Shamsi skips down the track and flicks it towards deep mid wicket. Just a single

4 off 3

19.4
1w
Primus to Shamsi, 1 wide, banged in short but this strays down leg too. Perhaps it was a riposte to Shamsi advancing but nevertheless, it is a wide the Falcons could have done without

Shamsi is the last man in

19.3
W
Primus to Nedd, OUT, another wicket for Primus, and the Patriots are crumbling under pressure! Hard length on middle and off. Zips off the surface, gets big on Nedd and cramps him for room too. He has a swipe at it but all he manages is a tame top edge to short third. The Falcons just one wicket away from a win on opening night!

AR Nedd c Mohammad Amir b Primus 2 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66

CPL News

Patriots 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st37ADS FletcherE Lewis
2nd34KR MayersE Lewis
3rd6KR MayersT Stubbs
4th34KR MayersOF Smith
5th0RR RossouwKR Mayers
6th22KR MayersDC Drakes
7th21DC DrakesRD John
8th3DC DrakesAR Nedd
9th2A NortjeAR Nedd
10th5T ShamsiA Nortje