The Saint Lucia Kings secured their spot in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Final with a 15-run victory over defending champions, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, in a rain-affected match at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.
The Warriors will now face the Barbados Royals on Friday for a chance to challenge the Kings in the final on Sunday.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, the Kings capitalized on favourable weather forecasts. Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front, sharing a commanding 124-run opening partnership with Johnson Charles. This impressive start allowed the Kings to post a challenging total of 198/5 from their 20 overs.
Charles, who looked poised for a century, was dismissed for a dynamic 79 off 45 balls when he was caught on the long-on boundary by Keemo Paul off the bowling of Moeen Ali. Du Plessis followed shortly after, reaching a well-made half-century before Rahmanullah Gurbaz took an exceptional catch off Shamar Joseph to send the Kings skipper back to the pavilion.
Despite the early onslaught, the Warriors’ bowlers managed to limit the damage, with Moeen Ali standing out once again, finishing with impressive figures of 2/24 from his four overs.
In their chase, the Warriors had reached 106/4 after 13 overs when persistent drizzle forced the players off the field. With 92 runs still needed from 42 deliveries, the defending champions found themselves behind the required run rate under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. An hour later, with no sign of improvement in the weather, the match was called off, handing the victory to the Kings.
Shimron Hetmyer was looking dangerous with 37 off 18 balls, having just unleashed four sixes in quick succession off Noor Ahmad and Roston Chase. Moeen Ali had also recently joined him at the crease, but the Warriors were still trailing behind the DLS target of 121 when rain ultimately sealed their fate.
The Warriors will have a chance of setting up a re-match with a victory of Barbados Royals in the final eliminator match on Friday evening. Saint Lucia Kings will await either side in Sunday’s final with an inaugural CPL title very much in their sights.
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