Dasun Shanaka Smashes Fastest CPL Century as Patriots Crush Kings

Dasun Shanaka Smashes Fastest CPL Century as Patriots Crush Kings (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots Allrounder Dasun Shanaka)

The St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots handed the Saint Lucia Kings a crushing 137-run defeat at Warner Park in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

 Dasun Shanaka shattered the CPL record for the fastest century as the Patriots piled on the runs, before Jeremiah Louis capped a superb all-round performance by ripping through the Kings’ batting to bowl them out for just 98.

 Sent in to bat, the Patriots made a slowish start, losing Kyle Mayers early to Matthew Forde. But when Andre Fletcher joined Johnson Charles at the crease, the dangerous duo quickly shifted the momentum in the home side’s favour, taking the Patriots to 59 for 1 at the end of the Power Play.

 Fletcher, who has been in fine form throughout the tournament, looked in no mood to slow down. He raced to his half-century from just 23 balls. The Kings had earlier chances to remove him, but Fletcher was dropped twice in the seventh over, with Forde and Maheesh Theekshana both unable to hold on.

 Fletcher eventually fell for 64, but the Patriots continued to press the accelerator on a Warner Park surface that has produced plenty of runs this season.

 Fletcher has so often been the Patriots’ main man with the bat, but this time Shanaka stole the show, unleashing a brutal assault on the Kings’ bowlers. Linking up with fellow Sri Lankan Wanindu Hasaranga, Shanaka put the bowling attack under siege.

 The right-hander reached his half-century from just 24 balls and needed only 39 deliveries to reach three figures, rewriting the CPL record for the fastest century. After Tim Seifert and Shimron Hetmyer had equalled the previous record of 40 balls the week before, Shanaka blitzed his way into the history books.

 Shanaka was almost single-handedly responsible for a stunning 79 runs coming from the final four overs as the Patriots surged to the tournament’s highest total so far — 235 for 4 from their 20 overs.

He finished unbeaten on an incredible 121, climbing to the top of the tournament’s run-scoring charts in the process. His breathtaking innings included 12 sixes.

Faced with such a daunting target, the Kings needed to stick to their usual aggressive approach in the Power Play. However, the punishment Shanaka had inflicted with the bat appeared to linger as the Kings struggled from the outset, reaching 46 for 3 after six overs.

Wanindu Hasaranga, Naseem Shah and Ashmead Nedd each picked up a wicket to leave the Kings in serious trouble.

With the required task becoming increasingly steep, the Kings needed something drastic to turn things around. Instead, their innings unravelled completely. Only Tim Seifert threatened momentarily with 50 from 36 but no other batter showed up.

The middle and lower order offered little resistance, with none managing to reach double figures, and the Kings were bowled out after just 13.5 overs.

If Shanaka was the star with the bat, Louis was the destroyer with the ball. He claimed the final wicket of Amari Goodridge to complete a magnificent five-wicket haul, finishing with remarkable figures of 5 for 10 from 2.5 overs.

It was a picture-perfect finish to an emphatic Patriots homestand.

The Kings will look to pick themselves up when they face the Barbados Tridents on Sunday. The Patriots, meanwhile, will head to Guyana full of confidence after back-to-back victories, where they will take on the Guyana Amazon Warriors.