Saint Lucia Kings top the table after six-wicket victory in Gros Islet

Kamil Pooran’s unbeaten 81 off 49 balls powered Saint Lucia Kings to a six-wicket win over Jamaica Kingsmen in CPL 2026 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet on Friday.

Matthew Forde set up the win with a five-wicket haul in the first innings to keep Jamaica Kingsmen to 169 after a composed half-century by Keacy Carty.

Jamaica Kingsmen 169/9

Put in to bat first, Jamaica Kingsmen struggled to build partnerships despite Carty anchoring the innings with a 45-ball 50. Forde struck four times inside the Powerplay to reduce them to 54/5 in the sixth over, including the wicket of Usman Khan, who provided impetus with 28 off 11 balls.

While Carty held one end, Andre Russell chipped in with a 25-run cameo off 15 balls, including three sixes. Odean Smith provided late flourish with an unbeaten 27 off 17 balls, hitting three sixes, helping Jamaica finish on 169 that seemed far-fetched at one point.

Saint Lucia Kings chase

Chasing 172, the Kings lost Tim Seifert early, but Pooran and John Campbell steadied the innings with a 66-run partnership off just 39 balls. Campbell struck 23 off 19 before falling to Vitel Lawes.

Pooran kept the chase on track after losing two more partners in quick succession, finding a willing partner in Obus Pienaar, who chipped in a valuable 34* off just 14 balls. Pienaar provided the decisive acceleration, smashing two sixes and four boundaries in his cameo.

The unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 57 runs propelled Kings to a comfortable victory with 10 balls to spare. Pooran hit six fours and five sixes in his match-winning knock.

Forde picked the Player of the Match award for claiming five wickets for 23 runs from his four overs. The win took Saint Lucia Kings to the top of the points table, while Jamaica Kingsmen missed the opportunity to move into the lead after both sides had entered the contest with two wins from five games.

Brief scores: Jamaica Kingsmen 169/9 in 20 overs (Keacy Carty 50, Usman Khan 28; Matthew Forde 5-23) lost to Saint Lucia Kings 171/4 in 18.2 overs (Kamil Pooran 81*, Obus Pienaar 34*; Vitel Lawes 2-22, Hunain Shah 2-34) by 6 wickets.