After a long wait, the Saint Lucia Kings won their first-ever Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title on September 6, beating the defending champions, Guyana Amazon Warriors, in a thrilling final as well. With this, Saint Lucia became the fifth team to win the CPL as well. Earlier known as the St Lucia Zouks, the Kings had not faced a lot of success. In 2023, they finished third but they were eliminated in the playoffs by the now-defunct Jamaica Tallawahs as well. However, this year, they did well with a memorable performance to win the championship.

However, after the win, captain player Faf Du Plessis recreated India captain Rohit Sharma's iconic walk celebrations style with the CPL Trophy. 

 

Faf du Plessis recreates Rohit Sharma's celebration

 

A euphoric moment for the Saint Lucia Kings! 🇱🇨 #CPL24 #CPLFinals #SLKvGAW #CricketPlayedLouder #BiggestPartyInSport pic.twitter.com/fQZSG3C4WV

— CPL T20 (@CPL) October 7, 2024

As far as the final is concerned, a stunning fifth-wicket partnership between Roston Chase (39*) and Aaron Jones (48*) stole the show. They added an 88-run stand that helped the Kings to win as well. However, Saint Lucia had earlier been struggling at 51/4 after 9.5 overs, losing key players, including captain Faf du Plessis as well. With 66 runs needed off the final 30 balls, Chase and Jones took the charge, scoring 47 runs across the 16th and 17th overs to reduce the equation to 19 off 18 balls as well. Later on, they comfortably reached the target with 11 balls in hand with the game ending with a wide bowled by Imran Tahir.

 

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However, Saint Lucia’s bowlers did exceptionally well. After winning the toss and opting to bowl, they successfully restricted Guyana to 102/7 after 18 overs. But, the Warriors brilliantly added 36 runs in the last two overs to finish with 138, giving themselves a score to defend as well.

 

"It has been special" - Faf du Plessis

 

Post-match, captain du Plessis applauded the team’s resilience. "It has been special. We’ve been really consistent throughout the competition. At one stage, I thought it was time to pack our bags, but we always believed in the depth of our squad."

Meanwhile, Roston Chase was named Player of the Match for his important contribution, while the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Noor Ahmad, who picked up 22 wickets at an economy of 6.19, was named Player of the Series as well. The tournament became a remarkable campaign for the Kings, sealing their place in CPL history finally.