Drakes shines as St Kitts & Nevis win Caribbean Premier League

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots won their maiden CPL championship by defeating St Lucia Kings in the last-ball thrilling final on Wednesday, thanks to Dominic Drakes’s all-around display. 

The Patriots enjoyed a redemption in CPL 2021 after an abysmal bottom-placed finish last year. In the final, Dominic Drakes was the hero for them, picking 1/38 and then taking the Patriots home with a blistering knock of 48* off 24. 

As it happened, St Lucia Kings won the toss and elected to bat first on the big match day. They scored 46/2 in the powerplay, thanks to Rahkeem Cornwall’s early blitz. Fabian Allen cleaned him up on 43 off 32 when the scoreboard read 76/3 in 10 overs. St Lucia struggled to keep the run-rate healthy, with even red hot Roston Chase scoring 43 off 40. 

Keemo Paul provided them with a boost at the back end with his 39 off 21 to take the Kings to a competitive total of 159/7 in 20 overs. Naseem Shah and Fawad Ahmed picked two wickets each for the Patriots, while Allen bowled an economical spell of 1/17. 

Chasing 160, the Patriots lost two big wickets in Chris Gayle (0) and Evin Lewis (6) inside the powerplay. Joshua da Silva and Sherfane Rutherford stabilized the innings with a 45-run partnership for the third wicket but were dismissed in back to back overs as the Patriots were reduced to 75/4 in 10.5 overs. 

The Champions! Alhamdulillah.

I am deeply grateful to my Captain Dwayne Bravo who gave me that much-needed support. Your trust and faith had made me more confident in and off the field. I enjoyed every minute of playing with you. #CricketPlayedLouder #CPLFinal #SKNPATRIOTS pic.twitter.com/0jGy2kHuNl

— Naseem Shah (@iNaseemShah) September 16, 2021

Captain Dwayne Bravo couldn’t get going either and was dismissed on 8 off 11. Drakes, along with Allen (20), brought the team back into the game with a 44-run partnership for the sixth wicket. 

The Patriots needed 55 off the last five overs, which was brought down to 9 off the last over, courtesy of some outrageous hitting by Drakes. Needing 7 off 3, Drakes ran a double followed by a boundary. Drakes jabs a low full toss for a single on the final delivery as the Patriots erupted in joy. 

Brief Scores 

St Lucia Kings – 159/7 in 20 overs (Cornwall 43, Roston Chase 43; Naseem Shah 2/26, Fawad Ahmed 2/32) 

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots – 160/7 in 20 overs (Drakes 48*, da Silva 37; Riaz 2/36, Chase 1/17) won by 3 wickets.

Player of the match

Dominic Drakes