Kings seal win after Gous fireworks and spin strangle, Forde delivers

St Lucia Kings secured a thrilling four-run victory over Antigua and Barbuda Falcons at Kingstown, as Matthew Forde defended 13 runs in the final over to hand the Kings their first win of CPL 2026.

Gous Sets Up Kings' Total: Player of the Match Andries Gous grounded the Kings' innings with a superb 82 off 51 balls, staying at the crease until the 18th over. Despite Alzarri Joseph taking 3/32, Gous' heroics lifted St Lucia Kings to 187/8.

Falcons' Strong Start: Evin Lewis launched a fiery chase, blasting 42 off 24 balls to push the Falcons to 65 in the Powerplay and 109 by the halfway mark. Spinners Trigger Collapse: Spinners Maheesh Theekshana (2/18) and Roston Chase (2/18) turned the game around in the middle overs, dismissing Lewis, Karima Gore, and Tajinder Singh as Falcons stumbled to 145/5 after 16 overs.

Forde's Final Over Heroics: Needing 13 off the last 6 balls, Fabian Allen (28*) struck a late six and four off the 19th over, but Matthew Forde conceded just eight runs in the final over—benefiting from Jahmar Hamilton's slow 10 off 20 balls—to seal the four-run win.

Gous’ Match-Winning Anchor: Player of the Match Andries Gous grounded the St Lucia Kings' innings with a controlling 82 off 51 balls, batting from the very first ball through to the 18th over to insulate his side against middle-order failures.

Support Around Gous: Ackeem Auguste was the next-highest scorer with just 18 off 20 balls at No. 3 as the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons bowlers consistently picked up wickets throughout the innings. Falcons' Bowling Leaders: Alzarri Joseph led the Falcons' attack with figures of 3 for 32—following up his 3 for 34 in the previous fixture—though Gous kept the Kings ahead of the game.

Late Drama: Fabian Allen swung momentum back to the Falcons by taking 10 runs (a six and a four) off Shadley van Schalkwyk in the 19th over, but Matthew Forde held his nerve in the 20th over to seal victory for the St Lucia Kings.

St Lucia Kings 187 for 8 (Gous 82, Joseph 3-32, Springer 2-39) beat Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 183 for 7 (Lewis 48, Robinson 30, Allen 28*, Theekshana 2-18, Chase 2-18) by four runs