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| @Shamsi celebrates after taking Russell's wicket vs TKR in CPL 2025 |
On September 3, 2025, the Saint Lucia Kings played an impressive game to beat the Trinbago Knight Riders by seven wickets in the 20th match in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2025, held in Tarouba, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad. That 53 balls to spare victory allowed the Kings to make the playoffs and won the leaders of the points table, taking the wind out of TKR and its 5-match winning streak. The spinners of the Kings under the command of Tabraiz Shamsi staged an amazing bowling performance and left TKR to a meager 109, which the Kings easily hunted down, courtesy of a strong batting performance led by Tim Seifert.
Match Overview:
The game, which the Kings played under the light at Tarouba, demonstrated the superiority of the Kings in all aspects of the game. Kings captain David Wiese won the toss but chose to bowl first, an inspired decision since the conditions were favorable to spin at the venue. The bowlers, especially their spinners, took advantage of the pitch, and reduced TKR to only 109 in 18.1 overs. The Kings in their turn replied by stalking down the target in a mere 11.1 overs, losing just three wickets in the process, which raised their net run rate considerably and put them squarely in the title hunt.
Toss and Team Strategies:
The first ball decision was tactical and fell along the historical chasing bias of the venue. In the Brian Lara stadium, the second batting team has won 25 out of the 46 matches and the captain has preferred to take the first field in 36 matches meaning that most teams like to chase. The Kings took advantage of this pattern and used their spin-heavy attack to silence the relatively mighty batting line of TKR. Even though TKR had a good form (they had won six out of their seven matches before this game), they could not adjust to the conditions and disciplined bowling of the Kings.
Saint Lucia Kings' Bowling Masterclass:
Their bowling attack was headed by their spinners (seven of the ten TKR wickets). The highlight was Tabraiz Shamsi, South African left-arm wrist-spinner who won the Player of the Match award due to his dazzling 3/12 in four overs. This was a masterpiece of spin bowling by Shamsi and he tore the middle order of TKR, along with their star players such as Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell. You have to give the credit to his success in extracting turn and sustaining an economy rate of 3.0 which derailed innings in TKR.
Khary Pierre has created the mood right at the start, hitting the second ball of the game and ousting TKR star opener Colin Munro with a duck. Munro, the top run-getter of the tournament with 352 runs and a strike rate of 176, was caught off a ball that was kept low, an omen of the difficulty TKR would meet on the spinning wicket. Pierre ended with 2/31 and Roston Chase with 2/19 and TKR could never get any momentum.Delano Potgieter helped to clean out the lower order (2/6).
The batting failure of TKR was profuse. Following the early dismissal of Munro, wickets followed each other in regular intervals: Darren Bravo (2.2 overs), Alex Hales (5.6 overs), Akeal Hosein (6.2 overs), Nicholas Pooran (9.6 over), Andre Russell (11.3 over), Kieron Pollard (13.6 over), Terrance Hinds (17.1 over), Sunil Narine (17.4 over) and Nathan Edwards (18.1 over). The captain of TKR, Pooran, made the highest score of 30, but was caught by Shamsi, and this was the start of the poor run of TKR. The bowlers of the Kings kept the batters of TKR on their toes and their disciplined lines and lengths revealed TKR to the spin, with spinners taking 46% of the wickets at Tarouba at an average of 23.8.
Trinbago Knight Riders' Struggle:
The batting line of TKR, which had been very strong throughout the tournament, collapsed disastrously. The departure of Colin Munro was a huge setback, as there is no denying that he was in form, even scoring 120 off 57 balls against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots earlier in the season. Alex Hales, a century partner of Munro on Guyana against Amazon Warriors, failed to reproduce his performance, registering a poor score. Shamsi was able to outwit Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, who struck a lot of noise in the middle but no one hit, and Nicholas Pooran was the only player who made a good strike with 30. Their 109 total was their lowest of the season, in contrast to their season-leading batting average.
Tarouba pitch was very helpful to spinners with spin bowling economy rate of 6.8 and strike rate of 20.9, which was very low compared to pacers whose economic rate was only 8.7. The batters at TKR misread the terms and their violent response to spin went against them. This actually caused disarray to the TKR middle and lower order by the Kings bowlers, especially Shamsi, Pierre, and Chase taking advantage of the turn and the bounce of the pitch.
Saint Lucia Kings'Clinical Chase:
With the modest aim of 110 the Kings attacked the task confidently and on the offensive. Tim Seifert, their most active run-getter (277 runs at 178.7 strike rate) led the pursuit with a quick 36, and established the offensive with a blistering powerplay. The powerplay is an area that Seifert has mastered; with a strike rate of 233.9, he and opening partner Johnson Charles initially owned the bowlers of TKR. Ackeem Auguste and Roston Chase were good support, and Tim David completed the chase in good fashion, bringing it to an end at the beginning of the 12th over.
Sunil Narine led the bowling effort by TKR with 2/28, which is too little to defend. The TKR star wicket-taker Mohammad Amir (11 scalps in the tournament) could not do his thing and went wicketless. The batters of the Kings played without excitement, finding holes and exploiting erroneous services, so there was nothing to cut the pursuit. The win was achieved keeping 53 balls in pocket, a fact that attests to the supremacy of the Kings and raised their net run rate well beyond 50.
Key Performance and Turning Point:
- Tabraiz Shamsi (3/12): The moment of the match was the spell of Shamsi. The successive dismissals of Pollard, Russell and Pooran shattered the backbone of TKR and won him the Player of the Match award.
- Khary Pierre (2/31): Pierre delivered the first blow by rejecting Munro, and this would be the start of the Kings bowling reign. His consistency comes out in his 58 wickets in the CPL with an economy of less than 7.
- Tim Seifert (36): Seifert started aggressively, so there was no pressure on the Kings in the chase, and the team retained its image of the most attacking batting team in the tournament.
- Early Wickets: The second ball which Pierre dismissed Munro and the wicket of Shamsi in the middle order were pivotal points in limiting TKR to 109.
Impact on CPL 2025 Standings:
The win saw the Saint Lucia Kings top the CPL 2025 points table, winning their fourth match in as many games and getting into the playoffs. Despite this loss, TKR was still within the competition but fell into second place, and their winning streak of five matches has ended. The decisive victory coupled with the net run rate is a plus that places the Kings as the favorites in the playoffs
Historical Context:
Historically, TKR have had a better head-to-head record against the Kings, with 18 of 27 head-to-heads being won, including an 18-run victory earlier in the season at Gros Islet. But in this match the Kings reversed and it actually demonstrated their maturity as a team led by David Wiese. The fact that they had been able to adjust to their situation and play their game plan against a formidable TKR team speaks volumes about their title credentials.
Conclusion:
An announcement was made in CPL 2025 when the Saint Lucia Kings won the Trinbago Knight Riders seven wickets on September 3, 2025. The batting of TKR was shredded by their spinners, under the leadership of Tabraiz Shamsi, and their batters, headed by Tim Seifert, went after the target like a scalpel. Not only did this victory ensure the Kings of a playoff spot, it also showed that they could handle the pressure of playing at the highest level. With TKR, the defeat was a flash in the pan on an otherwise brilliant campaign, yet one that has revealed weaknesses that they have to fix before the playoffs. The presence of the Kings in a dominant performance at Tarouba will be imprinted in the minds of CPL 2025 fans as the Kings moved towards the title.
Brief Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 109 in 18.1 overs (Nicholas Pooran 30, Nathan Edwards 17; Tabraiz Shamsi 3-12, Roston Chase 2-19) lost to Saint Lucia Kings 112/3 in 11.1 overs (Tim Seifert 36, Ackeem Auguste 28; Sunil Narine 2-28, Usman Tariq 1-26) by seven wickets.