BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE St.Kitts-Nevis Patriots notched up an important victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders yesterday morning (Sept. 22) to close out their 2022 Caribbean Premier League campaign on a high.
Playing on a warm day, the defending champions put away the Knight Riders by 7 runs to remain in the mix for a place in the knockout round of the competition.
With the table bunched and the business end of the tournament just around the corner, the Patriots knew that they needed a victory and Sherfane Rutherford stood tall for the Basseterre-based franchise.
Batting first, the Patriots posted a competitive 162 for 6 off their 20 overs and Rutherford top scored with a blistering 79 from 50 balls, including beautiful pull shot over wide long-on to bring up his half century.
With his side struggling, Rutherford put on a patient run partnership with Darren Bravo (23) before he departed. But the in-form Guyanese batter once again played a crucial inning when he and Dewald Brevis partnered for a 57-run stand.
Daryn Dupavillon was the stand out for the Knight Riders, ending with figures of 3 for 38 off his 4 overs, including removing the in-form Rutherford who had a faint edge to the wicketkeeper.
In reply, the Knight Riders team was never able to put together any significant partnerships in the game.
Wicketkeeper batsman Tim Seifert struck 59 and was supported by captain Keiron Pollard who managed a patient 31.
Andre Russell, with his usual blistering inning, belted 29 from 17 balls but, in the end, the team could not get over the line.
As the senior bowler in the Patriots lineup, Sheldon Cottrell led from the front with 3 wickets, and he gained support from Kevin Sinclair and captain Dwayne Bravo with 2 wickets each.
The Patriots will now sit and wait on results from the remaining two games to know if they qualify for the knockout round.
They currently sit on 8 points with three matches remaining.
The Knight Riders will play the Guyana Amazon Warriors tomorrow evening and a defeat will sink their chances of making the knockout round.
