In the opening match of the 13th edition of the CPL, Shakib Al Hasan’s Antigua & Barbuda Falcons lost to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots by 6 wickets.
At the opponent’s home ground, Warner Park, Antigua & Barbuda struggled from the very start, losing 3 wickets in the powerplay. However, the pitch wasn’t all that difficult for batting, as proved by U.S. batter Karima Gore, who came in at No. 3. While Shakib and others were struggling to score, Karima batted at a strike rate of 179.41. Before being dismissed as the fifth batter, he scored 61 off 34 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Thanks to him, the team’s total reached 121.
At the other end, Shakib batted alongside Karima for quite some time. He came to the crease in the eighth over after Fabian Allen’s dismissal. However, his batting looked labored — as if the bat was made of stone and the pitch was a thorny path. He faced 16 balls, scored just 11 runs, without hitting a single four or six, finishing with a strike rate of 68.75.
Shakib departed as the sixth batter, and the rest couldn’t contribute much either. Aside from Karima’s 61, the next highest score was 12 runs, followed by 11 each from Shakib and Imad Wasim, and 10 from Obed McCoy. The Falcons were bowled out for just 121. For St Kitts, Waqar Salamkheil took 4 wickets, while Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naseem Shah claimed 2 wickets each.
With the ball, Shakib didn’t have any impact either — he bowled just one over, conceding 6 runs. St Kitts raced to 55 runs in the powerplay. Although the Falcons raised some hopes by taking quick wickets and reducing the hosts to 76 for 4, Aliq Athanaze and Jason Holder ensured there were no further slip-ups. Their unbeaten 49-run stand for the fifth wicket guided the Patriots to victory, ending Shakib’s disappointing day with a defeat.
