Green, de Kock leads Barbados to victory, St Kitts eliminated

Barbados Tridents moved up from the bottom of the CPL 2026 points table by defeating St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots by four wickets at the Kensington Oval. While keeping their playoff hopes alive with a win now from their last two games enough to take them through, the Tridents have knocked the Patriots out of the tournament.

After choosing to bowl first, the hosts' captain Chris Green was the star, returning figures of 4/20 to defeat the Patriots. The Patriots were rocked in the Powerplay, losing a wicket in each of the first three overs. Johnson Charles and Kyle Mayers, the tournament's openers, made a mistake. Green got rid of Johnson Charles, and Kyle Mayers slipped behind Daniel Sams. The Patriots were left reeling on 6 for 3, and Andre Fletcher was defeated by the extra bounce as he played onto his stumps off Green. The Patriots eventually managed 21 points on the powerplay. After that, the skipper gave away Alick Athanaze and ended his run in the 11th over by putting Dasun Shanaka in front of the ball.

Gudakesh Motie then removed Jason Holder, who motored along for a 27-ball 24. It was a Wanindu Hasaranga counter-attack that vaulted the Patriots from a precarious position of 51/6. While wickets kept falling at the other end, he first took AM Ghazanfar down for a four and a six before hitting two sixes off Motie. The Patriots reached 100 thanks to Hasaranga's 25-ball 45, but they were bowled out for 118 thanks to two run outs in the final two overs.

The chase was far from straightforward as Holder struck twice in the first over to remove Brandon King and Rivaldo Clarke, before dismissing Zachary Carter in the fifth. Quinton de Kock, batting at No. 4, and Sadrack Descarte then steadied the innings, consciously pouncing on Hasaranga, who proved to be expensive on the night. Descarte fell to Naseem Shah but de Kock found an able ally in Sherfane Rutherford, ensuring that the chase remained within control.

Rutherford struck three fours in his 23 and fell in the 16th over, before Green followed suit in the 17th as Naseem finished with remarkable figures of 2-11 from his quota of overs. But despite those jitters, the chase was done for all practical purposes with de Kock remaining unbeaten, before Sams finished the job with a six.