11:47pm The rain has started to fall at Warner Park, and after game where it rained boundaries, that seems kind of poetic. Nevertheless, the Patriots now have a couple of days to dust themselves off and go again, while the Kings travel to Antigua to take on the Falcons on Tuesday. We hope to have your company for those games too, and until then, this is goodbye from me (Shashwat) and Vairavan. Take care, folks!
Faf du Plessis, St Lucia Kings captain: (On the score they were chasing) The break did (help us). Those seven balls…if you are the batting team, you are looking to get 20 runs. The fact it only went for three runs, created a big swing. That was huge for us. But then the start we had, us losing four wickets early and then getting to the total (inside 18 overs), will give our middle order lots of confidence. When you come to the Caribbean, the challenge is that middle overs against the spinners. There is always great power at the top from all teams. Even in the past, we have relied on the top order being successful. So, for us, this is huge. To take Shamsi down, to have that intent, it makes it difficult to bowl when you know guys are coming (to attack).
Andre Fletcher, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots captain: (On the bowling and what is going wrong) Execution. As a fielding unit, we are not helping the bowlers. We can't be dropping catches and expect to win matches against powerful batting line-ups. Catches win matches and we have to do that, and buck up on our fielding. Kyle bowled his three and then we wanted to bring on Shamsi, who is our wicket-taking bowler. He (Nedd) did not get his length right and he panicked a bit (against Rajapaksa). The game went away from us with those dropped chances.
Kyle Mayers, Player of the Match: It was a good day for me but the team did not cross the line, so it is still sad. Thought we played well. Difference between us and them was they executed in the back end. The rain also kept our spinners out of the game. (On playing for the Patriots) New beginnings, new environment, I am very excited. I love playing here in St Kitts. (On his partnership with Lewis and the chats they had) Just positive. We just assessed the games, tried to analyze who to target and tried to take it as deep as possible. It was a good catch, I really wanted it. I gave it my best effort and it came off.
11:30pm An extraordinary run-chase, especially after the start the Kings had. They were four down inside four overs and were staring down the barrel. The Patriots, though, imploded thereafter. They dropped Seifert twice and that gave Seifert the belief and the freedom that he could take the game to the hosts. A flurry of boundaries followed - most of them drool-worthy - and that took the wind out of the Patriots' sails,
Rajapaksa was the other star of the show. He hit the ball to all parts and his hitting against spin was, in particular, a sight to behold. Wiese did his job towards the end too and the Kings, despite being 24-4 at one stage ended up winning the game inside 18 overs.
Another bad day at the office for the Patriots, especially in the field. The chances they afforded to Seifert proved crucial, while their fielding was also not very inspiring. Nortje was perhaps the pick of the bowling bunch, with Mayers also bagging a couple of wickets. The rest, though, were simply not at it, with the 41 runs Shamsi shipped in two overs, summarizing their plight.
Smith to bowl what could be the final over of this game. The Kings need seven runs to seal the deal
END OF OVER:17 | 4 Runs | SLK: 195/5 (7 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 11.47, RRR: 2.33)
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa67 (34b)
- David Wiese30 (19b)
- Anrich Nortje4-0-29-2
- Kyle Mayers4-0-38-2
Just 11 needed now. 24 balls to get there
END OF OVER:16 | 16 Runs | SLK: 191/5 (11 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 11.93, RRR: 2.75)
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa65 (31b)
- David Wiese28 (16b)
- Kyle Mayers4-0-38-2
- Anrich Nortje3-0-25-2