Faf du Plessis struck a brilliant century and Roston Chase, a fantastic half century that together powered the St Lucia Kings to a massive victory over the previously unbeaten St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Saturday.

The South African, scored his highest ever T20 score, an unbeaten 120, which was the first century of the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) as the Saint Lucia Kings smashed the Patriots by 100 runs.

The Patriots won the toss and opted to put Saint Lucia Kings into bat, with the superb du Plessis batting though the whole innings as he recorded his best score off just 60 balls, supported by Roston Chase, who once again excelled with both the bat and ball.

“It was a brilliant innings from Faf, knowing that he started bad in the tournament. He was under pressure and he wasn’t feeling well – we couldn’t ask for better,” said Vice Captain Andre Fletcher.

“We don’t have much big power at the back end so our role was just to see if we can give a quick start and get as deep as possible. It’s good that it worked out and we’ll try our best to keep winning. With 224, anyone going out will feel confident but at the same time we knew how well the Patriots can go. The bowlers did well.”

The Patriots succumbed in their chase, bowled out for 124 despite some fireworks from Evin Lewis, but ultimately a disciplined bowling performance from the Kings won them the game. 

Saint Lucia Kings got off to a flying start as openers Andre Fletcher and Faf du Plessis ensured they batted through the Powerplay to reach 71-0. Despite losing the wickets of Fletcher and Keron Cottoy, the Kings built a mammoth total as du Plessis and Chase hit boundaries at will, contributing eight sixes between them.

The Patriots had a more restrained start as they began the chase; Devon Thomas fell to the bowling of Alzarri Joseph, with Chris Gayle following in the third over. Chase added pressure by bowling a maiden in the fourth over before Evin Lewis started to deliver some destructive shots, reaching his half century in just 25 balls.

However, his 73 was in vain, as wickets tumbled, with Keemo Paul taking three wickets in the 16th over.

The Patriots received an additional blow in the match when they lost their inspirational caption Dwayne Bravo to injury. He was unable to bat during the Patriots’ innings.

“It was a groin strain, the staff took a look and said I shouldn’t go back out,” Bravo explained afterwards. “I’ll go back now and get a scan.”

He praised the Kings’ batsmen who seemed incapable of doing no wrong.

“Faf is a class player and a lovely innings from Roston Chase,” Bravo said.

“I can’t fault my team, we came here and wanted to bowl. But they outplayed us. We’ve done most things right so far in the tournament, just a matter of resting players and giving them time to recover. The games get quicker at this point so we have to be smart about that. I think this is the best cricket wicket, there’s something there for the bowlers, spinners and batters. This is the type of pitch you want for such tournaments. I’m happy for Lewis, he showed what he’s got. One of the best openers in the world.” 

Saint Lucia Kings now have six points and are firmly in contention for a play-off spot, while the Patriots remain top of the league.

Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 224-2 (du Plessis 120*, Chase 64*; Ahmed 1-23, Allen 1-26) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 124 all out (Lewis 73, Gayle 14; Paul 3-23, Joseph 3-27) by 100 runs.