The Patriots captain made a 30-ball 64 and starred in both halves of the Super Over as Knight Riders fell short in their defence of 216
The Report by Ankur Dhawan18-Sep-2019
Carlos Brathwaite played an innings to remember, arresting a middle-overs collapse with hitting of the highest calibre to keep St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the hunt chasing 217, before delivering the knockout punch with both bat and ball in the Super Over after the game was tied – only the second such occurrence in CPL history.If his 30-ball 64 wasn’t enough of a contribution, Brathwaite took it upon himself to snap Knight Riders’ winning streak, smashing Ali Khan for two sixes and a four to set them 19, before conceding just five with the ball. Incidentally, that was exactly what the Patriots needed to win – 19 – when Jimmy Neesham was taken for 18 by Rayad Emrit and Alzarri Joseph to tie the game. A total of 36 fours and 24 sixes were hit overall, and Knight Riders’ Lendl Simmons was a heavy contributor to that tally in his 45-ball 90 – his third successive fifty – with nine fours and six sixes during the course of which he overtook Chris Gayle to lead the run charts this season. But it proved insufficient as Patriots clinched the thriller in Basseterre.Simmons, a sight for sore eyesIt started with an inside edge that narrowly missed the stumps, but thereafter, there was hardly one that missed the middle of Simmons’ bat. His strokeplay through the off side was the perfect union of style and power, belligerent, but a sight for sore eyes. Depending on little changes in length and line, and the field, Simmons either drove through the covers on the up, punched through cover-point off the back foot, opened the face to pierce the infield behind square, or slashed up and over third man. But he was only marginally partial to the off side, as 42 of his runs came through the leg side, some clubbed over long-on, some pulled over deep midwicket, and others tickled fine. However, part of the reason he could pepper all corners of the field was the bowlers’ inconsistency in both length and line. They bowled two lengths – either too short or too full – and strayed on both sides of the wicket, and Simmons, in the form of his life, cashed in every time.Joseph pulls things backAt 100 for one after eight overs, Knight Riders were on course to push their own record 267 from the last match. That’s when Joseph came on for his first and pulled things back with immediate success. He delivered the first boundary-less over, conceding just six – also the cheapest at that point – bringing some calm to the proceedings. Though Simmons picked up a couple of sixes from his second, he fell to Sheldon Cottrell in the next over, and Joseph came back to unsettle Colin Munro and Kieron Pollard with his pace. His third over went for just two, with the 14-ball period post Simmons’ fall including Munro’s dismissal. His last over was equally miserly, just three coming off it as he finished with 1 for 25, which arguably proved to be the difference as Knight Riders made 94 in their last ten overs, having made 122 in the first ten.Evin Lewis gatecrashes Neesham’s partyThere were no birthday presents for the allrounder who turned 29, as Lewis tore into him from the get-go, launching him down the ground first ball. The next two went for four, and in context of what was to come, it was the best result for Neesham. Lewis, after showcasing finesse with a dab to third man and lap to fine leg, was back to his brutal best, clobbering one over deep midwicket, clubbing another one over long-off, before finishing off with another boundary to take 31 from the over. Neesham continued to have a poor day as he conceded 68 in his four, including the 20th, which went for 18 resulting in the tie.Powerplay squeezeAfter Neesham had been welcomed to the attack with a brutal assault, Ali Khan pulled things back, keeping Lewis off strike by bowling tightly to Laurie Evans. The fifth over was taken for just three as a result, and after Anderson Phillip managed to do the same, he was rewarded with Evans’ scalp, the frustrated batsman holing out to deep square-leg. Lewis had played just two balls in the two previous overs, and another over went by where he was kept at the non-striker’s end, as Mohammad Hafeez struggled to get Khary Pierre off the square. With Lewis back on strike next over, Phillip bowled to a plan, firing them full outside off and keeping them away from the reach of Lewis, who had by then started to lose rhythm, and though a few extras were conceded through wides, Lewis fell into the trap as he sliced the fourth delivery of the eighth to Pollard at deep point.Remember the name!Three wickets in the space of four quiet overs had turned the tide Knight Riders’ way. The required run-rate had shot into the 12s, and he had Shamarh Brooks for company, with a career strike rate of 112.50. What does Braithwaite do? Just presses forward and extends his arms to send one sailing over the sight screen. That was just the start, his second ball, with plenty to come.The next few overs, Brooks went along at a run-a-ball, but every time the required rate threatened to get out of hand, Brathwaite found the boundary – six down the ground, four swept away, a dab to third-man for four. For the time that he was at the crease, Brathwaite ensured the boundary was found every over, and there was fear in the mind of the opposition; a fear he instilled single-handedly, with Brooks managing just one four. And though he fell with 44 still required from three overs, the required rate remained achievable, and Knight Riders had started to panic, something he took full toll of after the game went into the Super Over.