CPL 2024 Match 16 Review: De Kock's Century leads Royals to win

With a stunning century of his own, Quinton de Kock destroyed the Guyana Amazon Warriors, helping the Barbados Royals win 32 runs at Kensington Oval and take the top spot in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). After the Warriors decided to bowl, de Kock batted nearly the entire innings to amass an incredible 115 off 68 balls, dominating the Royals' 205/6 total. Keshav Maharaj, a left-arm spinner, took three wickets as the Warriors collapsed to their first loss of the year at 173/5. 

Rahkeem Cornwall was replaced in the batting order by Kadeem Alleyne by the Royals following their painful two-wicket loss to Trinbago Knight Riders the previous evening. Alleyne relished the opportunity to go up and crush a few huge sixes, one-off CPL rookie Moeen Ali. However, he was bowled out by fast Dwaine Pretorius in the third over, bringing a stop to his spectacular 22 off 9 balls. 

Quinton de Kock's Masterclass at CPL 2024 Match 16:

Following a cautious beginning, in the seventh over, de Kock asserted himself by launching a methodical attack on Shamar Joseph. Desperate to regain his best form, Joseph delivered a brutal blow to de Kock's torso before striking back. The South African ignored the pain and took 34 balls to get his half-century. His love of hitting straight down the ground was evident as he smacked a slower delivery back over Raymon Reifer's head, a left-arm seamer.   

De Kock scored his century off 60 balls, almost batting on a different pitch as wickets fell all around him. He and Evin Lewis are the only batters in this season's CPL who have hit a ton of runs thus far. Before he was removed with three balls remaining in the innings, De Kock struck a few more sixes. In the penultimate over against the Knight Riders, a determined Jason Holder struck three consecutive sixes off seamer Keemo Paul after labouring with the ball late in the game. 

After claiming Warriors opener Azam Khan with his opening delivery in the second over, Holder's disposition only got better. When a disgruntled Tim Robinson was stymied after being tricked by a flighted delivery from Maharaj, the Warriors' pursuit faltered. After an hour-long weather delay, Shimron Heytmeyer struck two consecutive sixes off Maharaj before smashing another one into the crowd.

Though cameos from Moeen, Paul, and skipper Shai Hope, Maharaj's payback came in the ninth over when he tricked Hetmyer into a fake shot. The Warriors (3-1) were displaced at the top of the standings by the Royals (4-1).   

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