CPL 2024 Match 6- Noor Ahmad leads Kings to victory against Falcons

The Saint Lucia Kings defeated the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons by a commanding seven wickets, extending their stellar start to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2024). Captain Faf du Plessis got the Kings off to a flying start as they chased 143 in Antigua, and they reached the target with eighteen balls remaining. Compared to their incredible season-opening victory over the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, the Kings' chase was significantly less exciting. 

However, it was just more pain for the Falcons, who lost for the fourth time in a row in their inaugural campaign. After the PowerPlay, the home team's innings unraveled, despite a strong start from new opening partners Fakhar Zaman and Justin Greaves. 

Noor Ahmad, a left-arm spinner, was the star of the show as he contributed 3/18 to hold the Falcons to a meek 142/7, the lowest score in the CPL this year. Despite a dramatic rallying cry from assistant coach Curtly Ambrose, the Falcon's attack was unable to match the Kings' offensive might as opener Johnson Charles led the innings with an undefeated 47 off 46 balls. 

CPL 2024 match 6 review:

In windy conditions, a desperate Falcons team had been sent into bat. In his season debut, Greaves attempted to provide a pick-me-up by smashing a second ball boundary, but Zaman quickly established a rhythm by hitting a breathtaking straight six off seamer Matthew Forde. But Zaman was smartly collected by a running Khary Pierre, who soon after clean-bowled Kofi James, ending their budding 35-run partnership. Pierre was still involved in the action when he managed to catch a skier from Greaves who had gamely attempted to hit against the breeze and fell on 36. 

As their innings wore out, the Falcons were unable to score boundaries due to disciplined bowling in the middle overs. In the second over, Du Plessis hit fast Shamar Springer for three boundaries and a six, making batting appear easy. Before being bowled out by spinner Imad Wasim in the opening over, he hit a career-high 28 off his first 11 deliveries. 

Kings continued to build momentum despite du Plessis's wicket and a brief rain delay at North Sound, as Charles and Bhanuka Rajapaksa hammered vicious sixes. Capt. Chris Green decided to use his opportunity to remove Rajapaksa in the eighth over to galvanize the Falcons. However, Green had a great opportunity to save Ackeem Auguste on the final ball before refreshments slipped by in his subsequent over. Kings made a statement early in the season with a brilliant six-seam finish by a rampant Tim Seifert.

Keep a watch at this space for more updates on CPL 2024.