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On Wednesday, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SNP) defeated St Lucia Kings (SLK) in a thrilling final of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to claim their maiden CPL title at Warner Park in Basseterre.
The Kings won the toss and chose to bat like they did in their semi-final match. Despite losing wickets at crucial stages, the Andre Fletcher-led side posted a decent 159/7 on the board in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to Roston Chase and Rahkeem Cornwall‘s 43 each.
Keemo Paul also made a valuable contribution of 39 runs down the order to help his team reach a competitive total. Fawad Ahmed (2/32) and Naseem Shah (2/26) picked up two wickets each for the Patriots.
In reply, Dwayne Bravo & Co. managed to successfully chase their target, with Dominic Drakes turning out to be the hero with the willow. Drakes made a match-winning 48 off 24 balls to help his side claim their maiden CPL title.
Apart from Drakes, Joshua Da Silva (37), Sherfane Rutherford (25), and Fabian Allen (20) chipped in with vital knocks during the Patriots successful chase.
Drakes was named ‘Player of the match’ while Chase was adjudged ‘Player of the series’. Chase made 446 runs in the tournament at an average of 49.56 and a strike rate of 144.34. Evin Lewis was honoured with the ‘Most sixes in the competition’ award. Lewis managed to hit as many as 38 sixes in CPL 2021.
“I want to commend my team, without whom this would not have been possible. This is for the fans, they have come out in numbers, and they are our 12th man. Belief. And giving people opportunities, backing people to perform. This one will be special as it is a new franchise, out of my comfort zone, coming here and not knowing what to expect, it should be in the top three. I know what it means for some of the guys who have been here from the start. I always wanted to play together with the Universe Boss in the CPL, and here we are winning the trophy together,” said Bravo after the match.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
What a final. Best ever. Well done to both teams. Congrats to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots on becoming the champions for the first time of #CPL2021 .
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) September 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/SRutherford_50/status/1438233107317067790
Simply sensational 🤸🏽💥 Watta finale!!! Truly an amazing afternoon here at #WarnerPark 🎶 Congrats to the new champions… @sknpatriots @CPL #DominicDrakes 👏🙏👌
— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) September 15, 2021
CHA47ION 👑 BRAVOOOO#EverywhereWeGo #CPL2021 #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/z4rQlb4GBZ
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 16, 2021
That’s why u Play 😍🏆,
Thanks to ALMIGHTY ALLAH 🙌🏽,
Thanks to all fans,family & friend for amazing support and prayers,
Special thanks to @sknpatriots & @CPL for another amazing opportunity 🙌🏽👊🏽,
🏆🏆🏆 in 4 years, so grateful and thankful 🙌🏽#BiggestPartyInSport #champions🏆🥇 pic.twitter.com/vD0d5WTcDW— Fawad Ahmed (@bachaji23) September 15, 2021
Apologies for flooding your TL with Dominic Drakes but this is the man of the moment pic.twitter.com/vW6oM9Uywf
— Carlos Brathwaite (@CRBrathwaite26) September 15, 2021
Dominic Drakes! 👏🏽
— Shai Hope (@shaidhope) September 15, 2021
ICYMI: Sherfane Rutherford will join the #Risers as a #CPL2021 champion after @sknpatriots’s win in a thrilling final last night 😍#OrangeArmy #OrangeOrNothing #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/ZFropwQysK
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) September 16, 2021
Celebrating 🥳 Champion Style!
Winners of #cpl2021
–#sknpatriots #patriots #biggestpartyinsport #stkitts #stkittsandnevis #sknp #t20 #djbravo #universeboss pic.twitter.com/Lx3OVZHB8Z— SKNPatriots (@sknpatriots) September 15, 2021
🇰🇳 @sknpatriots are the CPL 2021 champions! Congratulations 🏆 #CPL21 #SLKvSKNP #CPL21 #CricketPlayedLouder pic.twitter.com/2qZO9LDtRC
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 15, 2021
Congratulations @sknpatriots on a dream run and your first-ever CPL title! Absolutely Deserving! #cpl21 #cricketplayedlouder #sknpatriots #CaribbeanPremierLeague pic.twitter.com/9VSWpDWmUP
— Jamaica Tallawahs (@JAMTallawahs) September 15, 2021