Mayers stars for Patriots, but Rajapaksa powers Kings to victory

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC):

Kyle Mayers turned in a sensational performance with bat and ball, but it was not enough to prevent the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots from falling to the St Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League here on Sunday.

Man-of-the-match Mayers blasted a boundary-laden 92 from 62 balls, and along with Evin Lewis, who scored the tournament’s first century, propelled the Patriots to a challenging total of 201 for three from their 20 overs at Warner Park.

However, Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored an unbeaten 68 and Tim Seifert scored 64, as the Kings raced to 202 for five from 17.2 overs to begin their CPL campaign on a winning note.

It was a brilliant come-from-behind victory by the Kings, who seemed to be down and out at 24-4 in the fourth over after Mayers and fast-bowler Anrich Nortje struck early on.

Johnson Charles scored 12 from 12 balls before Mayers uprooted his leg stump to leave the score 14-1, and six runs later Mayers found Ackeem Auguste’s leading edge and was caught by Nortje at third man for six.

Without another run added, Mayers took a brilliant catch running back from mid-on to send Kings’ captain Faf du Plessis packing for just two off the bowling of Nortje, who also clean bowled Roston Chase for four to put the Patriots in full command.

But in a shocking turn of events, Rajapaksa and Seifert completely wrestled the initiative from the Patriots in a 103-run partnership in seven overs.

Seifert smashed left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for two consecutive sixes in the seventh over that yielded 18 runs.

In the next over, the pair then tore left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd to shreds, dispatching him for four sixes and one four.

Seifert brought up his half-century off the last ball of Nedd’s over by hitting him over the deep extra cover boundary.

Odean Smith made the breakthrough for the Patriots when he had Seifert caught at mid-off after pummelling six sixes and four boundaries, to leave the match evenly poised at 127-5 after 11 overs.

But the Kings would reap no further success the rest of the way, as Rajapaksa teamed up with Wiese in an unbroken 75-run stand in just over six overs.

Wiese, who finished on 34 not out, joined in on the action too, hitting Shamsi for three sixes in the 14th over.

He eventually ended the contest in fitting style by sending Smith to the deep fine leg boundary, as the Kings romped to victory with 16 balls remaining in their CPL opener.

Earlier, Lewis and Mayers combined in a 199-run stand for the second wicket to help the Patriots post a formidable total.

Lewis scored his sixth T20 hundred, an unbeaten 100 from 54 balls with seven fours and nine sixes, while Mayers clobbered six fours and seven sixes.

The two faced all but four balls of the Patriots’ innings, after captain Andre Fletcher was run out off the third ball of the match.

Lewis eventually brought up his century in the last over of the innings, when he pushed Wiese down to long off for a single.

However, Mayers was dismissed eight runs short of his 100 when he was caught at deep cover with two balls left.