CPL 2016, Match 6 Preview: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in search of winning momentum

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots will look to end their losing streak when they meet the confident St Lucia Zouks in the 6th match of the CPL. Patriots, the home side, would not expect such kind of start to the campaign. They now have two losses in their home ground as after getting defeated by the Guyana Amazon Warriors, they missed out on winning the last game against Jamaica Tallawahs narrowly.

They now have a side which his high on confidence after winning the tournament opener against the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders. The St Lucia Zouks will surely fancy extending their winning run when they face a team which has suffered two back to losses. But, the potency of the opposition must not be underestimated or else it might result in negative consequences tomorrow.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots:

It was mediocre batting performance from the Patriots in the previous game. The target was achievable but the batsmen simply failed go past the finish line. A solid start, especially after being put into a chasing situation, is very important. The Patriots once again had a bad start. Lendl Simmons did slightly better than the first game but Evin Lewis failed to register a double figure score for the second time in a row. The batsmen then simply threw wicket in short successions.

Faf du Plessis and Jonathan Carter, after getting starts, could not make their knocks count. They gave away their wickets at critical moments that too in quick successions and completely threw the chase off-tracks. Lead bowlers Krishmar Santokie and Samuel Badree will have to step up to the task now and start snapping wickets while been miserly. Tabraiz Shamsi looks to be the X-factor Thisara Perera and Carlos Brathwaite have done a great job with the ball but need to score big runs with the bat. The failure to launch themselves in the previous game was a major reason why the team lost.

Probable XI: Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Jonathan Carter,  Faf du Plessis, Brad Hodge, Thisara Perera, Carlos Braithwaite, Tino Best, Samuel Badree, Tabraiz Shamsi, Krishmar Santokie

St Lucia Zouks:

Johnston Charles, who struck a match-winning half-century, was the lone shining spot in the first game. The batting department can still put a more meaningful effort. The top order comprising of Fletcher, Shane Watson and Mike Hussey have a big responsibility on their shoulders. It was David Miller and Darren Sammy who gave the finishing touches to the win and similar explosive innings from them is expected from them. The bowlers did a decent job except Morne Morkel who gave away 41 runs for the purchase of just one wicket.

Watson may have failed with the bat but made his impact with the ball by picking three wickets. Sammy opted for a spin-heavy bowling attack with three spinners at his services – left arm spinner Devon Davis, K Ramsaran, and Nitish Kumar. While Kumar and Davis snapped a wicket each at a decent economy of 7, Ramsaran had a relatively off day, conceding 16 runs in his two overs spell. Maybe they should try an extra fast bowler in places him. The start of the tournament is the best time to rotate players and test the players.

Probable XI: Johnston Charles, Andre Fletcher, Shane Watson, Kyle Mayers, Denesh Ramdin (WK), David Miller, Darren Sammy (C),  Nitish Kumar, K Ramsaran/Delorn Johnson, Morne Morkel, Devon Davis.

Stats:

• Thisara Perera became the 1st Sri Lankan to score 1500 runs and pick 150 wickets in T20s.