Saint Lucia Kings hold their nerve to pick up first win

Saint Lucia Kings picked up their first win of CPL 2025 in thrilling fashion as they overpowered a spirited St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a last-ball decider. Having already lost their last two games, SNP were under the pump in the run chase of 201 but recovered in commendable fashion thanks to Jason Holder's whirlwind fifty. But when the equation came down to 5 from 4, they couldn't get the job done and fell short by three runs.

The game began in cracking fashion as Johnson Charles and Kyle Mayers shared the honours in the PowerPlay. While Mayers pegged back the defending champions very early with two wickets in an over, Charles went on the rampage to take on Fazalhaq Farooqi and Jason Holder to score 47 off the 60 runs that came in the the first six overs. He was then sent packing immediately after he got to his fifty but his dismissal didn't stop the carnage.

Roston Chase and Tim David joined forces to stitch 86 runs for the fourth wicket to keep the bowling side at bay. Chase was the early aggressor, finding the boundaries regularly and racing to 36 off just 21 before eventually bringing up a 30-ball fifty. David, who has been in terrific form, initially stuttered to 13 off 13 before taking off with successive sixes. He then hit three on the trot against Holder before miscuing one. However, with Chase also getting dismissed in the previous over, SNP were able to pull things back in commendable fashion in the final three overs in which they conceded just 21 runs.

Andre Fletcher then gave his side the ideal start in the run chase of 201 by taking down Keon Gaston in the very first over. Mayers would then join the fun by finding the boundary thrice in one over as SNP raced to 42 in just four overs. But in a stunning turnaround, David Wiese and Khary Pierre combined to pick three wickets in the space of nine deliveries to stun the batting side. Rilee Rossouw didn't last long either as he top-edged a reverse sweep to give Chase his first wicket. At 66 for 4 after nine overs, things were looking bleak for SNP before Holder began his onslaught.

Holder went 4,6,6 against Tabraiz Shamsi to pick 18 from his first over and followed it up with another 6 and a 4 against Alzarri Joseph to slowly revive the chase. Shamsi then conceded 13 more in his next over as Holder raced to 43 off just 18 at one point. However, the fact that Navian Bidaisee struggled on his CPL debut didn't help matters. He was batting on 9 off 16 at one point despite Holder's heroics at the other end. While Holder brought up a 23-ball fifty, Chase returned to get rid of him in his final over.

With half the side back in the pavilion, including the in-form Holder, things looked bleak for SNP especially with Bidaisee struggling. But the equation of 61 off 30 was dramatically reduced to 44 off 24 after Bidaisee finally found his groove against Shamsi. He got his timing right eventually as he hit a six each against Joseph and Wiese to keep SNP still in the hunt. The stars appeared to be aligning when Joseph walked off injured in the penultimate over and when the equation came down to 13 from 6, Bidaisee cleared the ropes once again. At that point, the game should have been in their pocket with the equation reading 6 from 5. But in a cruel twist, Jyd Goolie failed to pick up a run off successive deliveries and put Bidaisee on strike with his side needing 4 from the final ball. The debutant, who had brought up a hard-fought fifty by then, could only find the fielder at long-on where David completed a pressure catch.

Brief scores: Saint Lucia Kings 200/8 in 20 overs (Roston Chase 61, Johnson Charles 52; Kyle Mayers 2/24) beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 197/6 in 20 overs (Jason Holder 63, Navian Bidaisee 50; Khary Pierre 2/25) by 3 runs