Kingsmen break their duck in style at Sabina Park

Jamaica Kingsmen broke their winless run in CPL 2026 in emphatic fashion on Saturday, comfortably chasing down 183 against defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders at Sabina Park. A rampant Kirk McKenzie set the tone with a 25-ball 69, before cameos from Andre Russell and skipper Rovman Powell applied the finishing touches as the hosts got home by five wickets with eight balls to spare.

McKenzie teed off from the outset, stepping out to loft Akeal Hosein in the opening over before tearing into him for an 18-run third over. While he largely chose to play Sunil Narine out, he also nailed a slog-sweep off the veteran spinner. The pacers endured a nightmare, underlined by Terrance Hinds' 25-run over to round off the Powerplay as McKenzie raced to a 19-ball fifty.

The southpaw kept attacking, clubbing Usman Tariq for a six, but was bowled the moment he attempted one shot too many. By the time he was dismissed, however, the Kingsmen had racked up 93 in just seven overs. Reeza Hendricks played second fiddle in the opening stand but extended the dominance with a 29-ball 37.

Tariq, who bowled his four overs straight through, nabbed two more wickets to leave the door slightly ajar for the Knight Riders as the scoring rate dipped, and Kieron Pollard then removed Keacy Carty. But the Kingsmen did not get desperate, with Russell wisely playing out Narine's final over. With 54 needed off the last five overs, Russell slammed a six and two fours off Hinds before Powell joined him in a 28-run Nathan Edward over that brought the equation down to single digits. Russell fell, but Powell got the Kingsmen home, doing the job in singles.

Knight Riders left short despite late charge

Earlier in the evening, TKR struggled for early momentum after being inserted to bat. Colin Munro laboured to a 26-ball 16 before Russell put him out of his misery in the final Powerplay over. Alex Hales failed to convert his start while Nicholas Pooran began slowly, with TKR desperate for acceleration at 77/2 after the 12th over.

The momentum arrived in the form of Pollard, who clobbered three sixes and a four off Vitel Lawes. That rubbed off on Pooran, who switched gears at the other end in a 67-run third-wicket stand. Both fell in quick succession, but cameos from Jyd Goolie and Sunil Narine lifted TKR past 180. Despite wrestling momentum their way, they fell well short of a winning total.

Brief Scores

Trinbago Knight Riders 182/6 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 44, Nicholas Pooran 44; Hunain Shah 2-31, Andre Russell 2-34) lost to Jamaica Kingsmen 183/5 in 18.4 overs (Kirk McKenzie 69, Reeza Hendricks 37, Rovman Powell 29*; Usman Tariq 3-21) by 5 wickets.