St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 118 for 3 (van der Dussen 45*, Gayle 41) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 206 for 6 (Powell 84, Phillips 40, Cutting 2-29) by seven wickets
Blazing knocks by Chris Gayle and Rassie van der Dussen, complemented by a devastating cameo by Mahmudullah, helped St Kitts and Nevis Patriots clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in CPL 2018 with a dramatic seven-wicket win over Jamaica Tallawahs via the DLS Method at Warner Park. Patriots were cruising at 65 for 1 in 6.3 overs, chasing a target of 207, when rain sent the players off for a 40-minute delay.
The match had already been delayed an hour at the start due to early evening rain. With more interruptions anticipated, Patriots captain Chris Gayle’s decision to field first was vindicated when the target was revised to a very manageable 53 off the final 4.3 overs following the restart. Despite a brief stumble, characterised by two wickets in the first four balls after play restarted, Mahmudullah erased any doubt with 28 not out off 11 balls to finish off the match with five balls to spare.
Ka-Pow
After failing to face a single ball when he was hidden down the order in a strategic blunder that cost them a win over Barbados Tridents in Florida, Rovman Powell has made up for lost time in his last three innings with a total of 183 runs. Sunday night featured his career-best knock in T20 cricket as he smoked the Patriots attack at better than two runs per ball.
Powell entered in the seventh over following the loss of Johnson Charles and Kennar Lewis and wasted little time in tearing into the Patriots bowling unit. He ended the eighth over smashing Fabian Allen’s left-arm spin for six, four, six and barely slowed down afterward.
Powell brought up his half-century off 26 balls and got a second life a short time later when Sheldon Cottrell dropped a straightforward chance at deep midwicket on 26 off the bowling of Carlos Brathwaite, one of several sloppy efforts in the field for the Patriots. The Jamaican looked a good chance to bring up a maiden T20 century before missing out on a knee high full toss to Ben Cutting with nine balls to go in the innings but by that stage the Tallawahs had a very competitive total.
Not standing pat
Gayle got the chase off to a scintillating start by scorching 18 off the opening over from Krishmar Santokie. Tallawahs struck back on the first ball of the second when Oshane Thomas cleaned up Evin Lewis with an inswinging yorker, but that was a minor speed bump for the Patriots as Rassie van der Dussen came in and stroked four boundaries to help take the hosts to 62 for 1 in the Powerplay.
A potentially costly miss for the Tallawahs occurred on the last ball before play was stopped when van der Dussen’s flat drive off Santokie toward Russell at long-off was spilled despite a phenomenal diving effort by Russell. The letoff ensured any recalculations with overs lost would remain favorable to the Patriots.
Oh Mahma
Following the 40-minute delay, Gayle drove the first ball he saw from Santokie for six over long-on but fell two balls later skying a catch to the point sweeper. Legspinner Adam Zampa was brought on for the eighth over and struck immediately, beating Cutting’s swipe across the line for a golden duck to put the Tallawahs on a team hat-trick as the pendulum swung the way of the visitors with 47 needed off 23 balls.
Enter Mahmudullah. The Bangladeshi allrounder had only faced nine balls in the previous four matches for the Patriots, coming in at No. 9 for 2 not out off three balls in his most recent innings. After a few singles against Zampa, he wasn’t shy about letting his teammates know he has plenty of firepower to contribute when needed.
Van der Dussen sparked momentum back the Patriots way with a pair of sixes heaved over the leg side off Oshane Thomas to begin the ninth over before a single gave Mahmudullah center stage. Two glides behind point, one streaky and one much more deliberate, found the rope before a clean wallop over midwicket ended a 27-run frame to wipe out more than half the post-rain target. Another glorious inside-out six over extra cover two balls later off Zampa brought the required rate under a run a ball. A slapped two over the infield by the Bangladeshi on the first ball of the final over sealed Patriots spot in the playoffs.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo