Shamsi’s Magic and Rizwan’s Resistance
Tabraiz Shamsi once again proved why he is one of the toughest bowlers in T20 cricket. The left-arm wrist spinner delivered a tight spell of 2 for 17, even pulling off his trademark shoe-phone celebration twice. Despite his brilliance, St Lucia Kings had a sizeable target of 178 to chase in their CPL 2025 clash against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
“𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒊 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔’ 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔.”
Mohammad Rizwan tried to anchor the innings for the Patriots, scoring an unbeaten 60 off 41 balls, while Andre Fletcher contributed 37 runs. Rizwan stitched together a 71-run stand with Kyle Mayers and later an unbeaten 37-run partnership with Jason Holder, helping Patriots reach 177 for 3. However, the innings lacked the explosive acceleration needed on a batting-friendly surface.
Seifert and Charles Lead the Charge
The chase looked daunting at first, with just five runs coming off Kyle Mayers’ opening over. But once Johnson Charles cut loose against Naseem Shah, the momentum shifted. The Kings plundered 13 runs in the second over, 18 in the third, and 21 in the fifth, racing to 72 inside the powerplay.
Charles smashed a fiery 47 off 17 balls, while Tim Seifert anchored the innings with a fluent 68 off 45 balls. Their partnership of 115 runs in just 62 deliveries made the chase look effortless.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆.”
Although Waqar Salamkheil dismissed Charles in the seventh over, Seifert continued the assault with young Ackeem Auguste, who chipped in with 29 runs off 20 balls. By the time Seifert departed in the 15th over, the Kings required very little to finish the job.
Roston Chase (15*) and Tim David (16*) applied the finishing touches, sealing victory with 18 balls to spare.
Kings Climb to the Summit
With this emphatic win, St Lucia Kings climbed to the top of the CPL 2025 standings with eight points from six matches. Meanwhile, the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots slipped further down, sitting fifth with just four points from seven outings.
The Kings’ dominant display with both bat and ball sends a strong message: they are shaping up as serious contenders for this season’s crown.
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