Matthew Forde, Kamil Pooran Set Up Impressive Win for Saint Lucia Kings

Kamil Pooran’s unbeaten 81 off 49 balls powered Saint Lucia Kings to a six-wicket win over Jamaica Kingsmen in CPL 2026 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet on Friday. Matthew Forde helped set up the win with a five-wicket haul in the first innings to keep Kingsmen to 169 after a composed half-century by Keacy Carty.

Chasing 172, the Kings lost Tim Seifert early, but Pooran and John Campbell steadied the innings with a 66-run partnership off just 39 balls. Campbell struck 23 off 19 balls before falling to Vitel Lawes, but Pooran kept the chase on track.

Pooran lost two more partners in quick succession but found a willing ally in Obus Pienaar, who chipped in a valuable 34* off just 14 balls. Pienaar provided the decisive acceleration, smashing two sixes and four boundaries. The unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 57 runs propelled Kings to a comfortable victory with 10 balls to spare. Pooran hit six fours and five sixes in his match-winning knock.

Earlier, the Kingsmen were put in to bat first. While Carty anchored the innings with a 45-ball 50, they struggled to sustain partnerships. Forde struck four times inside the Powerplay to reduce them to 54/5 in the sixth over, including the wicket of Usman Khan, who provided some impetus with 28 off 11 balls. While Carty held one end, Andre Russell chipped in a 25-run cameo off 15 balls with three sixes. Odean Smith provided late flourish with an unbeaten 27 off 17 balls, including three sixes, helping Jamaica finish with 169—a total that seemed far-fetched at one point.

Forde won the Player of the Match award for claiming five wickets for 23 runs from his four overs. The win took Saint Lucia Kings to the top of the points table, while Jamaica Kingsmen missed the chance to take the lead after both sides entered the contest with two wins from five games.

Brief scores: Jamaica Kingsmen 169/9 in 20 overs (Keacy Carty 50, Usman Khan 28; Matthew Forde 5-23) lost to Saint Lucia Kings 171/4 in 18.2 overs (Kamil Pooran 81*, Obus Pienaar 34*; Vitel Lawes 2-22, Hunain Shah 2-34) by 6 wickets