Kings vs Tallawahs, Eliminator at Providence, CPL 2023, Sep 19 2023 - Match Result

10:39pm Right. That brings us to the end of our coverage for the Eliminator. Join us tomorrow as the Guyana Amazon Warriors take on the Trinbago Knight Riders, with the winner going through to the final and the loser meeting the Tallawahs on Friday. Until then, this is me (Shashwat) saying goodbye on behalf of Binoy George and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Take care!

Brandon King, Jamaica Tallawahs captain: Similar to last year, we are playing our best cricket at this time (in the playoffs). (On the Ambrose-Chanderpaul coaching combo) Same coaches as last year so it is working well. During the game too, they provide advice and that is working. (On being captain) Been an exciting challenge. Something new to be. Have had the fortune of senior members helping me ad have been able to get advice. (On his fitness) It is a day-by-day thing. Working with the physio to get back to 100%. Still not there yet. (On Amir) We have to assess. He had a bit of tightness. We have a few days' rest, hopefully he will be ready. (On whose performance delighted him the most) The entire bowling attack. Fabian came up trumps tonight. He bowled an incredible spell. It is tough to do that in the last ten overs of a T20 innings. Good to have a lot of options (as a captain) so he does not have to bowl all the time. Happy that he came up trumps. (Concerns in the batting unit) The bowlers made it really easy for it. It was not the easiest wicket to bat on. We decided to have a good start and it paid off for us. Anyone, it does not matter. We are happy to face anybody and prepared to face anybody.

Sikandar Raza, St Lucia Kings captain: (What went wrong) Today was just tough. We did not think the conditions would be as spin-friendly. Doesn't matter what the conditions are, you have to adjust. We sat on the back foot far too long and that cost us the game. Matthew (Forde) has been one of the few shining stars for us. He has been pretty spot on and has been a real fighter. If a few more guys had fight like him, things might have been different tonight. (On Sean Williams' exclusion) Cricket is always easy in retrospect. Given the conditions, we thought we needed a leg-spinner (Hatzoglou). I thought the selection was good. Rather than looking at that, the guys that got to play, we had to prove we deserved to play and we did not do that today. (Message to the fans) As much as things have not gone our way, the amount of care and support we have received, we are grateful for it. We managed to collect a decent bunch of buys that can collect a trophy. If not this year, then probably next year.

Fabian Allen, Player of the Match: (On the surface) It is a difficult surface. We just bowled in the right areas and it paid off. (On the bowling attack) The experience is good. We have been doing well for the last two games. (On stepping up after Amir's injury) That is what big players do - we are always ready for the challenge. Nice for me to execute. (On what makes this team dangerous) We are confident. We won it last year from a similar position and hopefully we can win it again. (Who they would want to face) I will take any team. I feel we are unbeatable now (smiles).

10:20pm A fairly comfortable victory for the Tallawahs, who win by five wickets and are now within a game of the final. Much of the heavy lifting with the bat was done early in the powerplay as King and Hales blazed away to a 43-run opening stand in four overs. There was a slight wobble thereafter as wickets fell but Imad and Reifer held their nerve in the middle overs. They nudged the ball around and ensured that the Kings did not have much of a sniff. Imad departed just before the game ended but Reifer was there at the end, finishing things off in style with a maximum.

Plenty to rue for the Kings. They were put into bat but just could not come to grips with the conditions. With the ball, they conceded too many too early, meaning that they were always playing catch-up, even when they picked up four wickets in relatively quick succession. They will be proud of having made the playoffs for the fourth season in a row but this loss will sting, considering they played well below their potential.

Springer joins Reifer

Forde to bowl out as well. Around the wicket to Imad

Chase to bowl out

Less than 20 needed now. 19 off 32 to be precise

Looks like the umpires are unhappy with the condition of the ball and they have now decided to change it