St Lucia Zouks 164-4 (Charles 52) beat
Trinbago Knight Riders 162-6 (Bravo 63no) by six wickets
First match, Caribbean Premier League, Queen’s Park Oval
Scorecard

Riding on a blistering half-century from Johnson Charles and a cameo from David Miller, St Lucia Zouks chased down 163 in the final over with six wickets in hand against Trinbago Knight Riders in the opening game of the Caribbean Premier League 2016 at Queen's Park Oval.

St Lucia Zouks won the toss and elected to field first. Brendon McCullum (12) started the innings with a couple of boundaries in the first over but was caught in the slips in the third over bowled by Derone Davis (1-14).

Colin Munro (11) struggled to get going as he was dismissed in the final over of powerplay with score reading 39 for two.

Hashim Amla (26) scored the first six in the game in the ninth over but was dismissed the very next ball by Nitish Kumar (1-21) finding the sweeper cover fielder.

By the 10th over, Trinbago Knight Riders were reeling at 63 for three. It was the 66-run stand between Darren Bravo (63 not out) and Umar Akmal (30) that resurrected the innings.

Bravo smashed three sixes and a boundary in the final two overs to take Trinbago Knight Riders to 162 for six in the 20 overs.

In the chase, St Lucia Zouks started in a positive manner, scoring 51 runs in the powerplay, despite losing the wicket of Shane Watson (16).

Charles (52) scored a six and a boundary in the 10th over to take the Zouks to 85 for one at the halfway mark.

Charles reached his fifty off 33 deliveries but soon he was caught brilliantly by McCullum in the slips off Sunil Narine (2-25). The umpire had a check for a no ball and gave Narine the benefit of doubt even though the replays showed he was marginally over the line.

With the required run rate climbing close to 10, Miller (33 not out) plundered Ronsford Beaton (0-32) for a six and a couple of boundaries to bring down the target to 23 off 18 deliveries.

Despite losing Michael Hussey (16), Miller and Darren Sammy (11 not out) ensured the Zouks reached the target in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand. Charles was adjudged the man of the match for his match-winning fifty.

© Cricket World 2016