The St. Lucia Kings cruised to an easy victory over the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in the Caribbean Premier League, chasing down a target of 143 in just 17 overs. The Falcons remain winless after four matches, rooted to the bottom of the standings. Noor Ahmad starred with the ball, taking 3 wickets for just 18 runs in his four overs, while Johnson Charles and Tim Seifert guided the Kings home. This defeat means the Falcons now face the uphill task of winning at least five of their remaining six games to stay in contention for qualification.
After being sent in to bat, the Falcons got off to a cautious start against David Wiese. Fakhar Zaman, however, broke the early pressure by attacking Matthew Forde, hitting a few boundaries on the offside and a six straight down the ground. His aggressive innings came to an end when he sliced a delivery from Roston Chase to cover. Justin Greaves had some luck, managing two boundaries off top-edges against Alzarri Joseph, keeping the scoreboard ticking until he mistimed a slower ball to deep midwicket.
Sam Billings and Imad Wasim briefly lifted the Falcons past the 100-run mark with a boundary each in the 15th over, but Noor Ahmad soon put a stop to their momentum. He first dismissed Jewel Andrew, who mistimed a googly to long-on, and then claimed Billings and Fabian Allen in consecutive deliveries, leaving the Falcons in trouble at 110 for 6 after 17 overs. Wasim managed two boundaries off Joseph in the 18th over, while Chris Green's quick cameo of 13 from eight balls helped the Falcons post a respectable total of 142/7.
St. Lucia's chase started with in-form Faf du Plessis taking the attack to Shamar Springer, smashing three fours and a six in a 20-run second over. He continued his assault, hitting Mohammad Amir for two more boundaries before top-edging a six off the same bowler. Du Plessis' innings ended when he holed out to long-on after three consecutive dot balls.
Johnson Charles anchored the chase with a steady knock, hitting the occasional six and keeping the scoreboard moving. Ackeem Auguste smashed two sixes off Fabian Allen, taking advantage of the favourable match-up, while Charles hit Chris Green for a maximum down the ground. Allen eventually trapped Auguste in front after an attempted sweep, but Seifert picked up where he left off in the previous game, thrashing Amir for three sixes and a four in a match-winning 24-run 17th over to secure a seven-wicket victory for the Kings.
Brief Scores:
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 142/7 in 20 overs (Justin Greaves 36, Imad Wasim 29; Noor Ahmad 3-18)
St. Lucia Kings 144/3 in 17 overs (Johnson Charles 47, Faf du Plessis 28; Imad Wasim 1-21)
Result: St. Lucia Kings won by 7 wickets.