BR vs SLK | Green and Powell help Barbados Royals keep faint hopes alive with first win of CPL 2025

‌Barbados Royals tasted their first victory in the Caribbean Premier League 2025 campaign with a 27-run win over St Lucia Kings in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Sunday. An entertaining cameo from skipper Rovman Powell and an all-round show from Chris Green helped the home side remain in contention for the playoffs, though they are placed last with three points and three games remaining. Meanwhile, the Kings are sitting pretty at the top of the table, despite the loss, with 12 points from nine games, and have already qualified for the knockouts.

After being put into bat at the Kensington Oval, the Royals lost wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock in the third over with the score reading just 15. But fellow opener Brandon King deposited Alzarri Joseph over fine leg in the fourth over for the first six of the match while Kadeem Alleyne hit a six and a four in the next as the Royals reached 39/1 at the end of the powerplay. The pair added 53 runs in 34 balls for the second wicket, but both batters departed in the space of 20 balls. King and Alleyne both scored three fours and sixes to make 42 off 31 and 39 off 21 balls, respectively. With the departure of Rassie van der Dussen and Sherfane Rutherford, the home side were placed at 130/5 with three overs to go. However, Powell changed the course of the game with his swashbuckling 17-ball 41, which included three sixes and four fours. The Royals skipper smashed two sixes and a four in Joseph’s penultimate over before hitting two fours and a six in a 20-run over from Delano Potgieter. Green also joined in from the other end with two fours and a six during his 14-ball 25. Their unbeaten 71-run stand in just 29 balls powered the home side to a formidable 191/5 at the end of 20 overs. Left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was the pick among the Kings’ bowlers with a spell of 3/26 in four overs.

Tim Seifert (24) hammered left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican for two sixes in the first over to set the tone for the Kings’ run chase. Skipper Powell, however, opted for spin from both ends with the new ball, and the move fetched handsome rewards. The visitors, after an excellent first over, suddenly lost their way with three batters back in the hut as the score read 43/3 at the end of the powerplay. Chris Green, after his excellent showing with the bat, shone with the ball too, as he accounted for opener Johnson Charles and all-rounder Roston Chase in his first two overs. Seifert’s dismissal off the first ball after the six-over mark made things worse for the Kings, and soon Aaron Jones also made his way as they were placed at a precarious 61/5. Australian batter Tim David dealt some hefty blows during his knock of 44 off 28 balls, hitting four sixes and two fours to keep the visitors in the hunt. But his dismissal tilted the game heavily in the favour of the home side as the Kings needed 98 runs in the final eight overs with only four wickets in hand. Captain David Wiese and Joseph added 36 for the eighth wicket in 19 balls, but it came a bit too late in the game for the Kings as they could manage just 164/9. The left-arm pace duo of Ramon Simmonds and Daniel Sams picked up 3/28 and 3/31, respectively, to go with Green’s two-wicket haul.