St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 235 for 4 (Shanaka 121*, Fletcher 64, Forde 2-48) beat St Lucia Kings 98 (Seifert 50, Louis 5-10, Nedd 2-24, Hasaranga 2-25) by 137 runs
Dasun Shanaka produced a breathtaking late assault, smashing the fastest century in Caribbean Premier League history as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots hammered St Lucia Kings by 137 runs in Basseterre.
Shanaka arrived at the crease in the 10th over with the Patriots on 89 for 2. By the time he walked off unbeaten, he had transformed the innings with a stunning 121 off just 43 balls, including eight fours and 12 sixes.
His century came from only 39 deliveries, breaking the record for the fastest hundred in CPL history and powering the Patriots to a formidable 235 for 4.
It was another statement performance from Shanaka, who has been in outstanding form in this year’s competition.
The Sri Lankan all-rounder initially took his time before unleashing a brutal assault on the Kings attack. He began with consecutive sixes off Roston Chase before turning his attention to Matthew Forde.
Even the loss of Andre Fletcher and Jason Holder in successive overs did little to slow him down.
Shanaka reached his half-century from just 24 balls before accelerating further. He then took 20 runs from an over by Maheesh Theekshana, striking the Sri Lankan spinner for two sixes and a four.
The Patriots finished with a remarkable 93 runs from the final five overs, with Shanaka saving his most destructive passage for the last over. He smashed Keon Gaston for four sixes and a four as the over yielded 28 runs.
Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga added 93 from just 31 balls, turning what had been a competitive total into an imposing one.
Earlier, Andre Fletcher had laid the platform with a 38-ball 64, while Johnson Charles contributed 26.
The Kings’ reply never got going.
Kamil Pooran fell for a duck in the opening over and Hasaranga then struck twice to leave St Lucia struggling at 55 for 4.
Jeremiah Louis compounded their problems by removing Chase and Forde with successive deliveries, reducing the Kings to 74 for 6.
Tim Seifert offered some resistance with a 36-ball 50, but there was little support around him. Louis then completed the rout by taking five of the final six wickets to finish with a maiden T20 five-wicket haul.
Louis returned remarkable figures of 5 for 10 in only his tenth T20 appearance, while Hasaranga claimed 2 for 25 and Nedd 2 for 24.
The Kings were eventually bowled out for just 98, handing the Patriots their biggest win by runs and a massive boost to their net run rate.
The 137-run victory lifted the Patriots’ net run rate from -0.547 to 0.593 and kept their playoff hopes alive.
For Shanaka, however, the night belonged to him.
A 39-ball century, an unbeaten 121 from 43 deliveries and 12 sixes made it an innings that will rank among the most explosive performances in CPL history.
