AI Simulation, TKR vs SLK | Knight Riders reach sixth CPL final with 14-run win against St Lucia Kings

‌Pitch and weather

The Providence Stadium offered a bit of swing and seam movement for the bowlers in the game, but flattened out as the game progressed. The wicket looked ideal for a high-scoring fixture where the batters had dominated the majority of the game.

The conditions were nice and warm in Guyana, with the temperature recorded at 28 degrees Celsius, and the skies remained clear throughout the game.

Toss

St Lucia Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first

Lineups

Trinbago Knight Riders: Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran (c/wk), Keacy Carty, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Saurabh Netravalkar, Usman Tariq.

St Lucia Kings: Tim Seifert (wk), Johnson Charles, Ackeem Auguste, Roston Chase, Tim David, Aaron Jones, David Wiese (c), Alzarri Joseph, Khary Pierre, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tymal Mills.

Match Report

St Lucia Kings won the toss and put the Knight Riders into bat in the crucial game, hoping to make use of the slow and dry surface in Guyana. However, the decision seemed to have backfired as Colin Munro and Alex Hales took the attack to the bowlers straight away and ended the first six overs on a score of 60/0. The two batters continued to wreak havoc after the power play until the dangerous-looking stand of 72 was broken in the eighth over by Shamsi, who found the outside edge of  Hales on a score of 35 off 22 deliveries. However, the dismissal of the English opener did not affect the scoring rate, as Nicholas Pooran also joined Munro and continued the onslaught. The two batters added 47 runs for the second wicket until Munro’s fiery knock of 41 off 27 was brought to an end by Khary Pierre in the 11th over. Despite the wicket of the Kiwi batter, the Knight Riders were still in a strong position with the score reading 119/2. While it seemed like a 200+ score was on the cards, Tymal Mills gave the Kings a sigh of relief with a couple of early scalps. While Pooran was scoring at a quick pace and brought up his half-century in just 24 balls, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell were dismissed cheaply by the Yorkshire-born pacer. It seemed like the defending champions were slowly coming back in the game as the Knight Riders' skipper’s knock of 54 off 29 deliveries came to an end in the 15th over after his middle stump was uprooted by Alzarri Joseph. With these three breakthroughs, the four-time champions suddenly slumped to a score of 138/5 with five overs to go. While it seemed like the ST Lucia franchise might restrict them to 170, Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein formed a crucial 43-run stand to take the Knight Riders to a competitive score of 186/6 at the end of their 20 overs.

Though the target was challenging on paper, Tim Seifert and Johnson Charles kept the fight alive by scoring at a quick pace. The partnership of 48 was looking threatening until Charles was dismissed for 26 in the fifth over by Hosein. Despite the minor blip, the St Lucia franchise still ended the power play on a score of 56/1. After the power play, Seifert chose to take a bit of time at the crease as Tim David started to play the big shots at the other end. They put on 53 runs off 36 deliveries for the second wicket to take the score to 109/1 in 12 overs. Though the first half was a nightmare for the Knight Riders' bowling attack, Sunil Narine changed the game in the next over by dismissing both set batters at the crease. While Seifert slogged the ball straight into the hands of deep-mid wicket on 45, David was castled by a straighter one in the fourth delivery on 42. The situation got worse as Ackeem Auguste and Aaron Jones were dismissed cheaply by Russell. As wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, the Kings were suddenly in a tricky position after 15 overs, with the score reading 134/5, needing 52 off the last 30 balls. Though the Knight Riders seemed to have finally got a grasp on the match, there was another twist in the game, and Roston Chase and St Lucia skipper David Wiese managed to get some shots away at the backend. The two had added 26 runs in the next couple of overs before Narine dismissed Wiese in the 18th over to complete his three-wicket haul. The hopes for the Kings started to dwindle as Chase was dismissed in the penultimate over by Saurabh Netravalkar. With the tail exposed, the equation was down to 20 off the last six deliveries. Hosein bowled the final over and conceded only five runs with a wicket of Khary Pierre and ensured the Knight Riders won the game by 14 runs. With this win, the Trinbago franchise made it to their sixth CPL final and will be facing off against their biggest rivals, Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Player of the match

Nicholas Pooran was awarded the player of the match as he led from the front with another explosive half-century.

Scorecard