TKR vs SLK, Preview | ST Lucia Kings hope to keep title defense alive in qualifier two

The 2025 edition of the Caribbean Premier League is down to its last two games, and the upcoming game will be the second qualifier match, which will be played between four-time CPL winners Trinbago Knight Riders and defending champions St. Lucia Kings in Guyana. This match will also determine the second finalist, who will battle against the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the CPL 13 title.

This game is also set to be an anticipated battle between two teams who will have a lot on the line going into the match. While the David Wiese-led franchise will be looking to keep their title defense alive and become the second team in the tournament to defend their title, Nicholas Pooran and his men will also be looking for their fifth title, which has been eluding them for the last four seasons. It will be interesting to see which team will get closer to their goal in this thrilling tournament.

Form Guide

Though the two teams might have had a great run in the majority of the league stage games, they have struggled a bit at the business end. While the St Lucia franchise has lost three games in a row going into the match, the Knight Riders had just about ended their three-game losing streak in the eliminator game against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.

Trinbago Knight Riders:  W L L L W

ST Lucia Kings:  L L L W W

TKR vs SLK Head-to-Head in  T20s

 The Knight Riders have been dominant against the Kings in the 28 games they have played against them, but in the last two years, the head-to-head battle has been even between the two teams, with both franchises winning three games each.

Trinbago Knight Riders 18 - 8 St Lucia Kings

Pitch and Weather

The surface in the Providence Stadium has been a mixed bag.  The surface has been on the slower side, where the pacers can cause problems with their variations, and the spinners tend to get a lot of grip and turn off the surface.  However, the dew factor could make it easier for the batters to chase down targets as well. In the 111 T20 games that have been played at the venue, the difference between the team batting first and fielding first has been neck and neck.

The expected temperature in Guyana is 28 degrees Celsius, and the conditions are expected to be clear without any threat of rain.

Team News

Both teams are expected to play with the same lineup as in the last game in the upcoming crucial playoff game before the final.

Trinbago Knight Riders Probable XI: 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 Probable XI: Tim Seifert(wk), Johnson Charles, Ackeem Auguste, Roston Chase, Tim David, Aaron Jones, David Wiese(c), Alzarri Joseph, Khary Pierre, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tymal Mills.

Broadcasting Platforms

The second qualifier of CPL 2025 between Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Kings will be digitally streamed on the Fancode app/website and will be telecast on the Star Sports Network at 5:30 am.