The Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) delivered a dominating performance to defeat the Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) by 56 runs in Qualifier 2 of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2025 at Providence Stadium. With this win, the four-times champion TKR once again advanced to the CPL final.
Nicholas Pooran and Alex Hales propel TKR to 194
After winning the toss, Saint Lucia Kings elected to bowl, handing TKR the advantage of setting a challenging target. The Knight Riders’ top and middle order fired in unison:
- Alex Hales led the charge with unbeaten 58 off 44 balls, including 4 towering sixes.
- Nicholas Pooran backed him up with a quickfire 50 off 32 balls, featuring 4 sixes and 5 fours.
- Kieron Pollard contributed 35 off 26 balls, and Andre Russell smashed 28 off just 12 deliveries, accelerating TKR’s innings in the death overs.
Only Colin Munro failed to make a mark, scoring 6 runs off 6 balls.
For the Kings, Khary Pierre, Roston Chase and Alzarri Joseph shared the wickets, but the bowlers struggled to contain the aggressive TKR lineup.
Saint Lucia Kings struggle in reply to TKR’s mammoth total
Chasing 195, the Kings started strongly through Tim Seifert, who scored a brilliant 57 off 40 balls, smashing 8 fours. Tim David added 28 off 19 balls, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to build partnerships. The defending champions were eventually restricted for 138/8 in the stipulated overs.
The Knight Riders’ bowlers were relentless:
- Sunil Narine took 3 crucial wickets for just 18 runs in his 4 overs.
- Usman Tariq claimed 4 wickets, strangling the middle order and effectively ending Kings’ hopes.
- Kieron Pollard chipped in with 1 wicket for 4 runs.
The defending champions have been knocked out of the tournament 🙌
– Trinbago Knight Riders storm into the finals 🌟#Cricket #TrinbagoKnightRiders #CPL2025 pic.twitter.com/6dLnbdz9co
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) September 20, 2025
Player of the Match
Nicholas Pooran’s aggressive 50 off 32 balls proved decisive in giving TKR the edge. His ability to dominate the Kings’ bowlers during the middle overs set the platform for a big total.
“It’s really important to come together in a tournament like this. It has been a bit challenging for us in the last two seasons. But everyone has come together this time and congratulations to everyone, I’m proud of the guys,” said Pooran after receiving his Player of the Match award.
“Our spinners have been brilliant, Usman has been brilliant throughout the tournament and we are happy to have him. Narine has been great as well and I’m lucky to have him,” the Knight Riders skipper added.
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