Twitter Reactions: Sherfane Rutherford, Dwayne Bravo take St Kitts and Nevis Patriots off to a winning start

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, the cellar dwellers of CPL 2020, started the ongoing edition on a resounding note. In their first game, the team, led by Dwayne Bravo, defeated the Barbados Royals by 21 runs. Last season, the Patriots managed to win only a solitary game out of 10 outings.

Rutherford comes to the party

After being put on to field first, the Patriots made a shaky start as they were reduced to 39 for four in 7.1 overs. Their top four- Evin Lewis, Devon Thomas, Chris Gayle and Asif Ali- fell cheaply. Oshane Thomas picked up three of those wickets while Mohammad Amir removed Lewis.

From there on, Sherfane Rutherford and Dwayne Bravo stitched together a 115-run stand off 11.3 overs. The former went on to score 53 off 43 with two fours and four sixes. Bravo scored an unbeaten 35-ball 47. Fabian Allen’s cameo of 19 took the Patriots to 175 for five in 20 overs.

Royals slump

In the run-chase, Johnson Charles hit three fours to fetch 16 runs for the Royals in the very first over. However, after Devon Thomas ran out Charles, the Royals’ innings slumped. Black Caps’ Glenn Phillips, who made a shift from Jamaica Tallawahs, couldn’t go beyond the double-digit score.

Shai Hope scored 44 off 38 before Sheldon Cottrell got rid of him. Azam Khan looked impressive for his 16-ball 28, but his knock wasn’t enough for the Royals to cross the finishing line. For the Patriots, Dominic Drakes was the standout performer as he picked up two wickets at an economy of 3.25.

My parents will be proud today, says Sherfane Rutherford

After the victory, Rutherford, who got the Player of the Match award, breathed a sigh of relief. He talked about his travails of playing the sport in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were under pressure after what happened last season. I was in New York playing cricket and training. My fiancée is there. So, I stayed with her and played cricket. In Guyana with the rain and pandemic, it was difficult to play here. So, I stayed there. My parents will be proud today,” Rutherford said.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to the Patriots’ victory

CPL 2021 Match 2: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots beat Barbados Royals by 21 runs

SKNP – 175/5
BR – 154/7 (20 overs) #CPL2021 #Cricket #CPL21 #CPL #Bravo #SKNPvBR #SKNPvsBR pic.twitter.com/9yLxuv8YPH

— Crisilin Babu (@Crisilin_Tweet) August 27, 2021

ST Kitts 🇰🇳 and Nevis Patriots beat Barbados 🇧🇧 Tridents by 21 runs.#CPL21

— Muhammad Adnan Nazir محمد عدنان نزیر 🇵🇸 (@ADN266) August 27, 2021

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots : 175/5 (20 ov)
Barbados Royals : 154/7 (20 ov)
Patriots won by 21 runs
Player of the match : Sherfane Rutherford (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots )#CPL21 🏏 pic.twitter.com/B8zK1jNmyF

— Ishara Isuru 🏏⚽️🏉 (@Ishisuru1) August 27, 2021

Sherfane Rutherford was awarded the Player of the Match for his innings of 53(43).#CPL #CPL2021 #Cricket #CricTracker pic.twitter.com/rm0oLBkJQS

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) August 27, 2021

175 proved too much for the Royals and in a chase that never took off, Holder's men slide to a 21-run defeat, despite Shai Hope's 44 (38).

Dominic Drakes 2/13 & Sheldon Cottrell 2/39 did the damage with the ball for the Patriots.

Patriots 175/5
Royals 154/7#CPL2021

— MostlyCricket (@MostlyCricket) August 27, 2021

Innings of P-O-W-E-R from

Azam Khan ✅ 28 from (16)#CPL21 #Cricket #azamkhan pic.twitter.com/y4IgYQoZb1

— MeesHa ✨ (@cric_bymisha) August 27, 2021

Good start to CPL by Azam Khan

26 off 18 balls. Run Out.

— Aqeel (@AqeelViews) August 27, 2021

Azam Khan just deposited dj Bravo out of the park. #CPL21

— Nikhil (@nikcriclover) August 27, 2021