St Lucia Zouks vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (Twitter/CPL)CPL 2020, SLZ vs SKN Highlights: The St Lucia Zouks, needing 111 to win against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, chased down the target with 6 wickets in hand and 5.2 overs to spare.
St Lucia Zouks won the toss and elected to field first. Mohammad Nabi took 4 wickets within the first 3 overs, as the Patriots sunk to 11/4. Nabi picked up a maiden 5-wicket haul in T20s as the Patriots struggled along to put up 110/9 in 20 overs, their highest scorer Ben Dunk (33). They were 30/1 after 2.5 overs when rain halted play, opener Rahkeem Cornwall (26) having gotten them off to a rocking start. Roston Chase (27*) and Najibullah Zadran (33) saw out the rest of the chase.
Javelle Glen, in at 6, takes some time to see off the Emrit over as the captain bowls his heart out. Goes after Ben Dunk in the next over though and gets a six down the ground for his trouble. Roston Chase brings up the winning runs with a four lofted on the leg side. The Zouks win by 6 wickets with 5.2 overs to spare.
Najibullah attacks Ben Dunk as he continues bowling with his floppy hat on. But skies one and is caught in the deep. He falls for 33. The Zouks need just 12 more runs with 7 overs remaining.
Ben Dunk bowls the 11th over with his floppy hat on. Has a laugh with Chris Lynn afterwards. On the pitch, Najibullah crashes a four through extra cover off him. Emrit continues. No sign of Alzarri Joseph yet. Not a happy pitch for fast bowlers, this. A light drizzle has returned. The Zouks are well ahead of the DLS par score. Zouks 89/3 after 12, this partnership now worth 37.
Two reverse sweeps for four by Zadran to open his account. Chase keeps placing the ball into the gaps for ones and twos. A fine partnership takes the Zouks closer to the target. The captain Rayad Emrit brings himself on in the 10th over. Chase hits his first boundary past backward point to move into the 20s. Najibullah lifts an Emrit delivery over the infield for another four. Zouks 79/3 after 10, chasing 111
Andre Fletcher gets under one and hits his first six to end the Powerplay. The Zouks get to 47/2 at the end of the 6th over. Chase keeps the singles coming. But Fletcher is caught at square leg. Fletcher goes for 16. Imran Khan gets his third wicket. Zouks need 59 off 78. Najibullah Zadran comes out at 5. Zouks 52/3 after 7
Roston Chase comes in at 4. Has been the batting mainstay for the Zouks team this season, with two 50s already. The Patriots stick with spin too, with Imran Khan's over having accounted for 2 wickets. Jaggesar continues, gives away just 1 run to Chase in the over. The batsmen have been giving a lot of respect to the spinners after the restart, but Cornwall's brisk 26 keeps them in good stead. Zouks 36/2 after 5, chasing 111
Play set to resume after a half-hour stoppage. No overs lost. Bright sunshine in the ground and the Zouks will be confident there will be no further hold-ups. They need 81 to win in the 17.1 overs remaining. Mark Deyal has come in at 3 and is on strike, with Andre Fletcher at the other end. Deyal goes for a first ball duck. Zouks 30/2 after 3, chasing 111
Imran Khan replaces Sohail Tanvir, who was despatched for 20 runs in the first over by Cornwall. And the big man goes massive again, sending the ball out of the park with his third six. That's so huge replacement balls need to be called for. The drizzle continues. A ball from Imran Khan stays low. Cornwall misses. And he is bowled. He goes for a rapid 26 off 11 balls. And the players go off for rain.
Some dark clouds and a light drizzle bring concern for the Zouks and hope for the Patriots. 5 overs needed for us to get a full game. A long interruption as the Patriots try to hold up play, bringing out extra cover for a short leg fielder for an eternity. Fletcher crashes the first ball of the over, bowled by Jaggesar for a crashing four past point. Five dot balls to follow that. Zouks 24/0 after 2, chasing 111
Rahkeem Cornwall and Andre Fletcher walk out to chase down the target of 111. Sohail Tanvir bowls the first over for the Patriots and the first ball is carted back past him for four. A four crashed to the off side and a six wallopped to the leg side for a huge six by Cornwall later in the over to set the modest chase off to a rocking start. Another monstrous six over long off to end the over. 20 runs for him in the over. Zouks 20/0 after 1
Alzarri Joseph hits another six, putting the long handle to good use in the last over. Moves to 21 off 13 as the innings ends. Joseph and Emrit bringing some respectabily to the score with a late burst. Nabi's 5/15 the star turn of the innings. The Patriots finish with 110/9 in 20 overs. Sammy and his boys walk off with big smiles. They will be confident of chasing this down.
Alzarri Joseph hits a six off the last ball of the Kuggeleijn over to take the Patriots score to 100. 13 runs come off the 19th over. 27 runs have come off the last two overs, both bowled by seamers. Kesrick Williams bowls the 20th over. Imran Khan surrenders his wicket with a loose shot that take a top edge. Patriots 100/9 after 19.1
A four by Emrit to end the Kesrick Williams over. 14 runs come off the over, this latest over standing up like a lighthouse on the run scoring graph by overs. Skipper Emrit doing some big hitting to salvage the innings and take the Patriots closer to the three-digit mark. Kuggeleijn brought back to bowl the 19th. And Emrit is caught in the deep as he goes for a big shot against the Kiwi. He goes for 16. Patriots 91/8 after 18.4
Nabi takes a 5th! His first 5-wicket haul in CPL. Sohail Tanvir, who stuck on for 12 off 21 balls, gives an easy catch to short fine leg. Alzarri Joseph walks out at 9, with even 100 looking too far for the Patriots. Nabi ends his 4 overs with 5/15. The third best bowling figures in CPL history. Kesrick Williams into the attack for the first time in the 18th over. Emrit swings against him to the leg side and gets a six. Patriots 82/7 after 17.4
Mark Deyal, the 4th off spinner Sammy has used today, comes into the attack. Skipper Rayad Emrit comes to the crease to join Tanvir. Four runs from the over. Cornwall continues in the 16th over, with the Zouks having bowled just one over of seam so far. Nabi comes back to bowl his last over for the 17th. Patriots 69/6 after 16
Sohail Tanvir tonks a six down the ground for six as Zahir Khan bowls his last over. Fletcher misses a stumping with Dunk miles outside his crease. 9 runs come off the over. A welcome big over for the Patriots. Cornwall continues. Dunk goes for a big shot and is caught in the deep by Kuggeleijn. He goes for 33 off 37, the highest score in the match so far by a distance. 62/6 after 14
The innings crawls along after a drinks break. 3 runs from the 11th over, bowled by Zahir Khan. Cornwall continues. Ben Dunk is almost caught at first slip but the edge falls just short. Four runs off the over bring up 50 for Patriots. 50/5 after 12
Sohail Tanvir comes in at 7. Rahkeem Cornwall given the ball for the first time with the spinners getting a lot of assistance from the track. Tanvir gives an exasparated shrug as he misses the ball as it turns too much for the nth time. 43/5 after 10
Ben Dunk hits Roston Chase for a six to break the shackles. The first boundary in 5 overs. Zouks stick with spin, Zahir Khan bowls the 9th. And he cleans up Jahmar Hamilton with the googly. Ben Dunk, on 18, the lone man standing in this batting order. Hamilton goes for 9. 38/5 after 8.5
Tom Moody says with the ball not coming on to the bat, this is difficult going for T20 batsmen and that anything above 100 will be an useful total today. Two scoring shots in the 6th over, bowled by Chase. The Zouks stick with spin, Zahir Khan bowls the 7th over. No boundaries in this partnership s far, but Ben Dunk and Jahmar Hamilton are doing what their team needs the most - some overs without further wickets. Four runs in the 7th over as well. And Chase comes back to bowl the 8th over, with 6 overs of spin having been bowled so far. 26/4 after 7