BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – St Kitts and Nevis Patriots used a three-wicket burst from seamer Carlos Brathwaite, to beat St Lucia Zouks by 26 runs in the Caribbean Premier League here Friday night.
Defending 170 for eight off 20 overs, Patriots held Zouks to 144 for nine at Warner Park, with right-armer Brathwaite picking up three for 38 from his four overs.
Andre Fletcher hammered an aggressive 59 off 43 balls with four fours and three sixes as Zouks looked in good shape at 69 for one in the eighth over.
But they lost eight wickets for 75 runs as Brathwaite and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, with two for 20, destroyed the innings as Zouks declined badly.
Earlier, Patriots’ innings was propelled by a top score by Man-of-the-Match Shane Dowrich who top-scored with 38 off 20 balls while New Zealander Martin Guptill hit 35 from 30 deliveries.
Devon Smith hit 25 from 16 balls while Raymon Reifer chimed in with a cameo unbeaten 20 from just seven deliveries at the death.
Off-spinner Nathan McCullum was the best bowler with four for 22.
Left-hander Evin Lewis perished early for three in the third over with the score on 12 for one when he edged a big drive off speedster Shannon Gabriel to Johnson Charles at second slip.
Dowrich then struck five fours and two sixes and Guptill, six fours, as they put on 54 for the second wicket to revive the innings.
McCullum then made key strikes including the wickets of Dowrich and captain Marlon Samuels (5) as Patriots lost four wickets for 34 runs to decline to 100 for five in the 13thover.
However, Thomas and Reifer then both smashed a four and two sixes in quick-fire knocks to give Patriots impetus at the end.
In reply, Zouks were carried early on by Fletcher who made up for Charles’ struggles at the other end.
They eventually lost Charles after an eight-ball battle over seven, skying a catch to substitute Justin Athanaze at mid-on off left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir in the fifth over with the score on 49.
Much was required from captain Kevin Pietersen but little came as he holed out to long-off off Afridi for 12 in the eighth over and the dangerous Ross Taylor made just three before cutting Brathwaite into Samuels’s safe hands at backward point at 76 for three in the ninth.
Fletcher’s demise, caught at long-on off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican in the 13thover, marked the end of Zouks’ resistance.
