The Jamaica Kingsmen produced their most dominant performance of the season in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Eliminator, defeating the Barbados Tridents by nine wickets at Kensington Oval on Wednesday to advance to Qualifier Two.
At just 21, Maaz Sadaqat became the youngest centurion in CPL history, smashing an unbeaten 112 to take the game away from the Tridents and put the Kingsmen firmly in control of the chase.
Kirk McKenzie provided solid support at the other end, finishing unbeaten on 22 as the Kingsmen cruised to victory with 35 balls to spare.
The Tridents endured a disastrous start after losing Brandon King and Kevlon Anderson inside the first two overs.
They were reduced to 2-2 after three overs and lost two more wickets before the PowerPlay ended. At 24-4, there was a stunned silence around Kensington Oval as the Kingsmen sensed an opportunity to restrict the Tridents to a modest total.
The Tridents’ hopes rested heavily on Quinton de Kock, who has been one of the tournament’s most consistent performers and had repeatedly rescued his side from difficult positions throughout the season.
His task became even more challenging when Sherfane Rutherford was dismissed for the fifth wicket, brilliantly bowled by a superb delivery from Saim Ayub.
But de Kock once again demonstrated his class and composure. Rather than panic, the South African bided his time and focused on ensuring he remained at the crease to guide the Tridents to a competitive total.
He found the ideal partner in captain Chris Green, and the two veterans set about rebuilding the innings.
Their partnership produced 95 runs and transformed the Tridents’ fortunes. Together, they guided the home side to 144-6, with de Kock sacrificing his wicket from the final delivery of the innings.
De Kock finished with another impressive 71, maintaining his position as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, while Green contributed an unbeaten 57.
The Tridents would have taken confidence from their recovery and hoped that 144 would give their bowlers enough to defend.
Those hopes, however, were quickly extinguished by the Kingsmen’s opening pair of Sadaqat and McKenzie.
Sadaqat dominated the early exchanges, making excellent use of the PowerPlay as the Kingsmen raced to 79-0 after six overs.
He continued his assault, reaching his first CPL half-century of the season from just 22 balls. Tridents captain Chris Green tried a variety of bowling changes, but nothing seemed capable of slowing the young Pakistani batter.
The same spin attack that had ripped through the Tridents’ top order earlier in the evening was now being dispatched to all parts of the ground by Sadaqat.
At the other end, McKenzie played the perfect supporting role, rotating the strike and allowing Sadaqat to continue his extraordinary assault.
Sadaqat maintained his remarkable scoring rate and reached his first-ever T20 century from exactly 44 balls—twice the number of deliveries he had needed to reach his half-century.
He was eventually dismissed when Daniel Sams forced a rare mistake, with Sadaqat skying a slower delivery that Sams held comfortably.
The young centurion departed to a warm and sportsmanlike round of applause from the home crowd.
With the Kingsmen needing just one run for victory and 35 balls remaining, Kevlon Anderson bowled a wide to seal the Tridents’ elimination—a delivery that summed up a difficult evening for the Barbados side.
The Kingsmen now advance to Qualifier Two, where they will face the loser of the clash between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, with a place in Sunday’s final at stake.
