Pollard fires Knight Riders past Patriots and into the playoffs

Trinbago Knight Riders continued their dominant CPL 2025 season with a sixth win in seven games and a fifth on the bounce that fortified their position at the top of the leaderboard. The 12-run over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots also fired them into the playoffs, keeping alive a quest for a fifth title.

Victory at their home ground of Brian Lara Stadium was setup by a brutal innings from veteran Kieron Pollard, who smashed 65 off just 29 balls to take TKR's total to 179. The hosts, who were put into bat, endured a stuttering opening after losing both Colin Munro and Alex Hales - fresh off a century stand in the last game - inside 25 balls of the innings.

Nicholas Pooran struck three sixes off his first five balls, all in an over bowled by Ashmead Nedd, to lead the counter-attack but the Patriots were largely successful in keeping the TKR batting line-up relatively quiet. Darren Bravo struggled in his 25-ball stay for 21 and when he was dismissed just past the half-way mark, the Knight Riders had only 78 on the board.

Pollard's entry changed that dynamic and his assault left even Pooran in the shade. The 38-year-old smashed 65 in a 90-run stand with his captain, an onslaught studded by eight sixes, seven of them coming in an eight-ball sequence in the death including four in a row against Waqar Salamkheil that brought up a 21-ball half-century. The Patriots still did well to concede just 24 runs from the final three overs with Jason Holder dismissing both Pollard and Pooran (52 off 38) for excellent figures of 2 for 25.

Patriots carried this momentum to the chase as Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis blazed a 96-run opening stand in 10.4 overs. Lewis made 42 off those runs in just 25 balls before pulling a slower ball from Nathan Edward to Bravo. Alick Athanaze faced a string of dot balls and the pressure quickly changed sides on a pitch that was getting slower and proving tougher to hit through the line.

Athanaze fell for a 14-ball 18 attempting to reverse scoop Mohammad Amir, leaving Patriots 54 to get from the final five overs. Usman Tariq then took the big wicket of Fletcher after the half-centurion missed an attempted swipe to legside and lost his stumps. Nathan Edward then struck off successive deliveries in the 17th over to leave Patriots 42 to get from 18 and once Holder fell in the penultimate over, the writing was on the wall.

The only moment of concern for the Knight Riders in the final moments came when Amir limped off the field with a suspected pulled groin.

Brief scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 179/6 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 65, Nicholas Pooran 52; Jason Holder 2-25) beat St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots 167/6 in 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 67; Nathan Edwards 3-30, Mohammad Amir 2-29) by 12 runs