Pakistan cricketer Imad Wasim has showcased an all-round performance, complemented by left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir’s exceptional spell, as the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons edged out the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a thrilling CPL 2024 encounter on Sunday in Basseterre.
Imad Wasim was named Player of the Match for his 17 not out and 2/24 with the ball as the victory took the Falcons to third in the table and left the Patriots bottom of the table after suffering their fifth defeat on the bounce. Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir starred for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots lost their fifth successive game in CPL 2024.
Pitch and Toss
The wicket looks a bit tacky. Cutters (slower deliveries) will work here, and spinners will have a say. There has been a little rain around. Looks like a good pitch overall, reckons Danny Morrison.
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons skipper Chris Green won the toss and chose to field with one change in the squad as Fakhar Zaman was replaced with Brandon King. St Kitts and Nevis Patriots skipper Andre Fletcher batting first made 3 changes to the team bringing in Dominic Drakes, Ashmead Nedd and Rilee Russow to the playing XI .
Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir the star as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were restricted to 153 in 20 overs
After winning the toss and inserting the opposition, the Falcons restricted the Patriots to 153/8 off their 20 overs. Mohammad Amir picked up three wickets for the Falcons and Mikyle Louis starring with the bat for the Patriots. Louis’ lusty order lower order hitting ensured thirty-three runs were scored off the last few overs as he cruised to 63 runs off just 36 balls, including seven sixes. A target of 153 was a success of sorts for the home side after they were earlier reeling at 60/4 in the ninth over.
Mohammad Amir gave his side a great start by removing both the openers for single-digit scores and if not for Kyle Mayers fetching some boundaries in the powerplay, St Kitts’s run rate would have been extremely poor. However, Mayers was also sent back to the pavilion off the final ball of the powerplay. Rilee Rossouw endured a tough time out in the middle but Wanindu Hasaranga chipped in with an useful cameo before departing around the halfway mark.
From thereon, it was Mikyle Louis for the batting side. St Kitts had just 98 on the board with five overs in the innings and Louis then farmed the strike for the major part of the death overs. He came up with a few lusty blows especially in the final two overs as he smashed Fabian Allen and Imad for five sixes in total for a terrific half-century that gave his side a fighting total to compete with.
Imad Wasim guides Antigua and Barbuda Falcons to the tense 2 wicket win over St Kitts.
In response, the Falcons seemed to be hauling in the target without too many alarms, Brandon King and Justin Greaves striking their way to 55 before King fell in the fifth over – trapped in front of the stumps by the pace of Anrich Nortje. From then on the plain sailing was over as the Falcons lost regular wickets and the match remained too close to call.
Wanindu Hasaranga was the main architect of the damage with the ball for the visitors, the Sri Lankan all-rounder’s leg-breaks and assorted varieties posing a constant threat. Justin Greaves, Sam Billings, the dangerous Jewel Andrew and Shamar Springer were all pocketed by Hasaranga in a devastating period of top-quality spin bowling.
At 110/7 when Billings departed the scene, it looked as if the Falcons’ wings had been clipped and that the duel was going the way of the Patriots. Roshon Primus and Imad Wasim combined effectively to hit the gaps in the field and take every single run on offer in order to eke their way closer to the target. With three overs to go the Falcons required 22 runs to win with three wickets in hand.
Dominic Drakes was summoned into the attack and bowled a frugal over that was hit for just six runs to leave the equation as 15 runs needed from 12 balls. Primus was then caught off backward point off Nortje as the pendulum swung towards Patriots in the penultimate over. With 11 runs needed from the final over, Fabian Allen stole the game at the last for the Falcons, smiting consecutive Drakes short balls for six and four into the leg side and scampering the single needed for victory with two balls remaining.
Imad Wasim was named Player of the Match for his 17 not out and 2/24 with the ball as the victory took the Falcons to third in the table and left the Patriots bottom of the table after suffering their fifth defeat on the bounce.
However, all that good work from Louis at the death appeared to be going in vain as Antigua made a terrific start in the powerplay. Brandon King and Justin Greaves stunned the home side with a barrage of boundaries to knock off 50 runs in just the first four overs. King’s blitz finally came to an end before the conclusion of the powerplay and Hasaranga got rid of Greaves. At that point, the bowling side staged a stunning comeback by picking wickets regularly.
For a side that was cruising at 80/1 at one stage, Antigua lost wickets in heaps as Hasaranga ran through the middle order. The momentum appeared to have been lost as 80/1 quickly became 99/6 but with Sam Billings and Imad still out in the middle, all hopes weren’t lost. While Billings didn’t last long, Roshon Primus smashed Hasaranga for a six and a four to relieve the pressure, after which Imad Wasim and Allen did the rest to pull off a jittery win with just two balls to spare.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons winning skipper Chris Green said : We have been having a lot of fun on and off the field and when you enjoy each other’s company that really lifts the team. Very proud of our efforts in restricting them and chasing it. Allen is one of the best finishers in the world and he is a great player and he wants to stand up in big moments with the bat and ball and we want to continue to find out players who wants to stand up in any situation.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots losing skipper Andre Fletcher said : It was a difficult wicket to start with, but the way Hasaranga and Louis played to put us back on track with the bat, I couldn’t have asked for any better. They had a good powerplay, but I must say that the guys fought hard.
We all know that he (Louis) can bat and I said to him to go out there and feel free and try his best to play his best match-up. Told him not to doubt himself and play as free as possible. I must thank the crowd for supporting us throughout, I want to apologize and say sorry for not giving them a win. All is not lost, we still got a few games and will be trying to win those.
Imad Wasim Player of the Match for his all round show said : This wicket suits me. I played at no.8 because of an injury. It was a great toss to win. I think we should have won within 16-17 overs. Louis played really well, so credit goes to him. Clarification of our roles is important. We wanted to bowl dot balls so that wickets could be taken from the other end. You have to stick to the basics in T20 cricket.
Fifth straight loss for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. All 5 at home as well. Gee, that will sting for a while. The Falcons knocked off almost 45 percent of the target in the powerplay and post that it was a matter of keeping their cool and getting past the winning line sans any hiccups. They did stutter a little during the middle overs as Hasaranga claimed a four-fer. The required rate, however, never went out of reach and that played into the hands of the visiting side.
Falcons did well to assess the conditions and strangled their opponents with spin despite the brilliance of Mikyle Louis. During the chase, it was all about having a good powerplay and they aced that to perfection. The win takes the Falcons to the third spot as St Kitts continue to languish at the bottom of the table. Going ahead St Lucia Kings is taking on the Trinbago Knight Riders locking horns on Tuesday as tomorrow is a rest day.