Tallawahs start CPL defence with a win

Defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs defeated Saint Lucia Kings by 11 runs in the opening game of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Wednesday night. Saint Lucia Kings won the toss and opted to put Jamaica Tallawahs in to bat, captain Brandon King leading the way with a dazzling innings of 81 from 53 balls to take the Tallawahs to 187 all out. In their chase, Saint Lucia Kings struggled to build momentum as the experienced spin bowling duo of Chris Green and Imad Wasim caused them early problems. Roston Chase gave the home side hope with a superb innings of 53, however, it was in vain as the Saint Lucia Kings fell short of the target. Jamaica Tallawahs got off to a fluent start in the first five overs, before losing two quick wickets to the spin of Roston Chase. With Amir Jangoo also departing in the following over, the Tallawahs looked in trouble, but Brandon King continued to make runs, hitting twelve boundaries in total, as the Tallawahs scored a substantial 187. Alzarri Joseph and Roston Chase were the pick of the bowlers for Saint Lucia Kings, the West Indian internationals taking a combined five wickets. Saint Lucia King’s response was stifled with the loss of captain Faf du Plessis in the third over, yet Johnson Charles and Sean Williams guided them to 45-1 at end of the Powerplay. Chris Green would dismiss them both as the required run rate crept up. Roston Chase put up a valiant effort with the bat, his half century coming off just 27 balls, with support from Roshon Primus, but it was not to be enough as the Saint Lucia Kings finished on 176 for 8. Saint Lucia Kings will look to rebound in tomorrow evening’s match as they face off against Barbados Royals at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.  (PR) Summarised scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 187 all out (King 81, McKenzie 20; Chase 3-39, Joseph 2-21) beat Saint Lucia Kings 176-8 (Chase 53, Primus 37; Wasim 3-27, Green 2-28). Tallawahs won by 11 runs.