CPL 3rd week round-up: Royals' fluctuating fortunes continue; Patriots still winless

Early in the third week of the CPL, Knight Riders chased down 179 against Patriots, as all their big names delivered. Then they waltzed their way to a pulverising 133-run win over Royals, who were bundled for just 61 in pursuit of 195. That turned out to be the heaviest defeat by margin of runs in the history of the tournament.

Martin Guptill hogged the limelight with an unbeaten 100 from only 58 balls despite having started with a run-a-ball 20. Earlier this year, Guptill had slammed the first century of this year's PSL, something which he repeated at the CPL too this season.

But in just about 24 hours, Rovman Powell galvanised his team into action, as Royals comfortably chased down 161 against defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs.

Tallawahs opener Alex Hales failed to create an impact in his first game of season, while on the other hand, Alick Athanaze's mature knock of 76 for Royals eclipsed Shamarh Brooks' 78 for Tallawahs. Athanaze stole the show with his pyrotechnics in a crunch situation, as he continues making big strides in the nascent stage of his career. After scoring the joint-fastest fifty on ODI debut against UAE in June, he gave resounding proof of his batting prowess with a match-winning knock against Tallawahs.

But at the post-match presentation, Powell urged those concerned to manage Athanaze well: "I think he has a very good future. It's important that West Indies look at that, and start managing him. We have seen players play all three formats in such quick time. There is a lot of talent in the Caribbean, but the problem is we don't harness that talent."

Thereon, Royals' topsy-turvy campaign continued as they suffered a 90-run defeat at the hands of St Lucia Kings. However, they saved their best batting performance for the last game of the Barbados leg, which came against Patriots. Royals beat the bottom-placed Patriots by hunting down 221 with as many as eight wickets and 11 deliveries to spare.

It was 'Cornball' all the way: Rahkeem Cornwall ruled the roost with a jaw-dropping century that put his team in the driver's seat before retiring hurt on 102 seemingly because of tiredness. Given how Royals' top order had been struggling before the final game of week three, not many would have envisaged that they would gun down the mammoth target rather convincingly.

Cornwall entertained the home crowd splendidly with his power-hitting, as one of his 12 sixes included a monstrous 110-meter hit which surpassed Kieron Pollard's 107-meter six earlier in the tournament. Cornwall then bettered his own record by crashing a 111-meter six over backward square. He got to his hundred off 45 balls, and followed that with a bat-drop celebration.

Stand-in captain Sikandar Raza hasn't let Kings' intensity drop a wee bit after regular captain Faf du Plessis' departure for a surgery for his long-standing tennis-elbow injury. Under Raza, Kings beat Royals by 90 runs, further solidifying their hold at the top of the table after three wins from their last five games, two of which were washed out by rain.

Knight Riders edged past Tallawahs by two runs while defending 142, as Waqar Salamkheil followed up his 4 for 14 against Royals with 2 for 21. Royals needed 12 in the final over of the chase, before Imad Wasim's boundary brought it down to eight off five balls. But Ali Khan bowled three dots in a row, and though Imad hit a four again, he could manage only a leg bye out of the remaining four required off the last delivery.

Earlier, during Knight Riders' innings, Tallawahs' debutant Kelvin Pitman picked up 3 for 27, including the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Pollard. And though Pitman's efforts went in vain, Tallawahs will be pleased with his performance as the group stage nears its business end.

Patriots' fortunes couldn't change either under Evin Lewis or Sherfane Rutherford, as they suffered a massive defeat against Amazon Warriors. Patriots made a forgettable start to the third week, succumbing for 88 in pursuit of 187 after Dwaine Pretorius dented them early with three wickets.

That was followed by a big defeat at the hands of Royals despite raking up 220, which included half-centuries from Rutherford, Will Smeed and Andre Fletcher. That meant six losses in a row after their first two matches were washed out, keeping them at only two points from eight matches. With Rutherford leading against Royals, Patriots were let down by the bowlers and he also rued the fielding lapses after the loss.

"Nothing is guaranteed, so we just need to keep a good mindset, stick together, and anything can happen," he said.