Caribbean Premier League 2020: Mohammad Nabi's fi-fer guided St Lucia Zouks to 6-wicket win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Mohammad Nabi’s career-best figures of five for 15, the third-best in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) history, helped his side St Lucia Zouks clinch a comfortable six-wicket win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in 15th match of the tournament at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on Thursday.

The Afghani spinner was well-supported by Rakheem Cornwall and Zahir Khan.Cornwall followed up with a brief but brilliant assault which took any remaining tension out of the chase for the St Lucia Zouks.

Zouks’ captain Daren Sammy won the toss and opted to bowl first. The St Kitts & Nevis Patriots were yet to score when Nabi dismissed both Chris Lynn and Nick Kelly, the CPL press release stated. 

While Lynn continued his run of being removed by spinners by handing a simple catch back to the bowler, Kelly edged to the ball to Cornwall at slip.

Nabi then took two more wickets in quick succession. Denesh Ramdin sought to follow a maximum over long-on with one over square leg but top-edged to Najibullah Zadran before Patriots leading scorer of CPL 2020, Evin Lewis, spooned a sweep to Roston Chase at square leg on the very next ball to leave the Patriots 11/4 off just 3 overs and Nabi on a hat-trick.

Chase was then introduced in the attack and he conceded just three off his first over. Jahmar Hamilton just about survived the hat-trick ball, but he and Ben Dunk did not able to notch up further boundary as the Patriots ended the Powerplay at 22/4.

Subsequently, Zahir Khan bowled a tight over for Zouks. Dunk finally broke the drought as Chase overpitched, sending the off-spinner high over the sightscreen. Oddly then smasjed two maximums but no fours for Patriots after eight overs.

Cornwall then finished the first half of the innings well, and the Patriots were 43/5 at drinks with a lot resting on Dunk once more.

Dunk hammered Zahir straight for a third maximum, but should have been stumped in the same over. After 13 overs of the innings, Dunk had amassed 32 of the Patriots’ 59/5, and the pressure on him finally told as Cornwall’s extra bounce saw the Australian splice a pull to deep midwicket.

The Patriots didn't manage to hit the match's first four even on a Mark Deyal full toss. After 15 overs of the innings, the Patriots had reached 66/6, and it got worse as Nabi returned to complete his five-for - remarkably, the first of his 10 year and 264 game T20 career - as Tanvir scooped a sweep to Zahir at short fine-leg.

Patriots' captain Rayad Emrit took Kesrick Williams for 14 in the 18th over including, at long last, a four. Emrit was the one to go back to pavilion in the next over, with Deyal taking a running catch at long-on, but Kuggeleijn dropped short off his last ball and Alzarri Joseph sent him into the stands.

Imran Khan sacrificed himself to get Joseph on strike, and the Antiguan responded with a second Hero Maximum. Patriots notched up 37 off the last three overs, all bowled by seam, only delayed the inevitable.

The Patriots began their attack with seamer Tanvir, who Cornwall hammered for two fours and two towering Hero Maximums.

Emrit gave Jon-Russ Jaggesar an aggressive field, but Jaggesar’s first ball was poor and Fletcher cut it easily for a boundary. Cornwall hammered Imran clean over the roof, and while he was bowled two balls later, the fact that he alone hit more fours and almost as many boundaries than the entire Patriots side told the story.

After the match was interrupted for some time due to brief showers, the Zouks resumed their innings needing just 81 at well under five an over, which made Deyal’s hoick first ball all the stranger. Emrit took a good catch to leave Imran on a hat-trick, which the ever-calm Chase denied him comfortably.

With Cornwall having taken the pressure off, the Zouks found strike rotation easy, and that relaxed feel gave Fletcher confidence to smash Jaggesar into the top of the Carib stand to end the Powerplay at 47/2. The opener’s dismissal was a surprise when it came with a pull straight to midwicket, giving Imran a third wicket.

Najibullah reverse-swept two boundaries and good running meant Imran’s last over went for seven. Emrit brought himself on, but Chase and Najibullah smashed him for a four apiece as the Zouks reached 79/3 at halfway.

Emrit then turned to Dunk’s part-time off-spin - so part-time Dunk bowled in his sunhat - which Najibullah smashed for four as the over went for eight. Najibullah dished out further punishment in Dunk’s next over, lifting him for a maximum over long-off, but Dunk got a small measure of joy as the Afghan top-edged to deep midwicket.

It was Dunk’s first CPL wicket and the third of his T20 career, but it was scant consolation as the Zouks clinched the win with 32 balls to spare without even needing Nabi to bat.

Brief Scores: St Lucia Zouks 111/4 (Najibullah 33, Chase 27*, Cornwall 26; Imran 3/23, Dunk 1/29) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 110/9 (Dunk 33, Joseph 21*, Emrit 16; Nabi 5/15, Cornwall 1/14, Zahir 1/18) by 6 wickets