Sadaqat’s record century crushes Tridents Opening batsman fires Jamaica Kingsmen to victory in CPL eliminator

‘Jamaica Little but we Tallawah’ was epitomised on Wednesday night as the Jamaica Kingsmen showed their mettle in an imperious performance against the Barbados Tridents.

At Kensington Oval, the Jamaica Kingsmen produced their best performance of the season in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 cricket eliminator, securing a commanding nine-wicket victory over the Barbados Tridents to keep their title dreams alive.

The match was defined by a historic innings from 21-year-old Pakistan batsman Maaz Sadaqat, who became the youngest centurion in CPL history.

His stunning 112 at the top of the order completely took the game away from the Tridents from the very first over.

Fellow opener Kirk McKenzie finished on 22 not out as the Kingsmen steamrolled their way to Qualifier Two.

Scores in the match: Barbados Tridents 144 for six in 20 overs; Jamaica Kingsmen 145 for one in 14 overs.

Speaking after the match, Kingsmen captain Rovman Powell praised his side’s execution, noting that the comprehensive nature of the win was exactly what they had planned for.

“Very special”

“It was very special,” Powell said. “It’s something we sat down as a team and discussed. If our top two, top three batters can give us a very good start, a very good platform, then it allows me, Andre (Russell), Hassan (Khan), and those power hitters, with a platform being laid, to come out and express ourselves a little bit more.”

The victory was set up by a disciplined bowling effort that restricted the Tridents to 144-6.

Powell expressed his satisfaction with the performance, especially given the early breakthroughs his bowlers achieved.

“At the halfway stage, we were very, very pleased. If at the start of the day you had given us 144 to chase, we would have taken it. And I have said that, even though they were four wickets down in the power play, credit has to be given to ‘Quinny’ and their captain, Chris Green, and I think they batted really well.”

Disastrous start

The Tridents made a disastrous start, losing Brandon King and Kevlon Anderson within the first two overs.

Sitting at 10 for three after four overs, they lost another wicket by the end of the power play, leaving them reeling at 24-4.

The Kensington Oval fell silent as the Jamaican bowlers went in for the kill.

However, the Tridents found an anchor in Quinton de Kock. The tournament’s leading run-scorer bided his time and found the ideal partner in captain Chris Green, and the two veterans constructed a phenomenal 114-run partnership to salvage the innings.

They scored 95 runs in the back half of the innings, with de Kock sacrificing himself on the last ball. He ended with another impressive 71, while Green finished 57 not out.

Andre Russell, who limped off the field before completing his final over, bagged two wickets for 36 runs.

Sadaqat dominated the strike in a partnership with McKenzie, powering the Kingsmen to 79-0 at the end of the power play. The young Pakistani batter motored to his first CPL half-century this season in just 22 balls.

He later reached his first-ever T20 century in exactly 44 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes.

The Kingsmen now move on to Qualifier Two, where they will face the loser of the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Falcons for a place in Sunday’s final.