Akeal Hosein takes 4 for 13 and Tion Webster hits a second T20 fifty to secure a three-wicket win in the final over
Basseterre: St Lucia Kings 143-9, Tribago Knight Riders 148-7 - Trinbago Knight Riders won by three wickets
Four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders opened their men's Caribbean Premier League campaign with a nervy three-wicket win over St Lucia Kings at Warner Park.
A repeat of the 2020 final saw Kings make 143 for 9 from their 20 overs.
Akeal Hosein grabbed the new ball and took 4 for 13, a boundaryless performance that saw him dismiss four of the top five to at one stage be on a hat-trick, to leave Kings 77 for 5 in the 13th over.
Roshon Primus top-scored with 38, following Mark Deyal's 35 from 34 balls to give them a score of some respectability.
The Knight Riders' chase was on the rocks when they were reduced to 19 for 2, losing Sunil Narine (6) and Nicholas Pooran (4) inside 19 balls.
Webster and New Zealander Tim Seifert put them back on top, putting on an 81-run stand for the third wicket in nine overs.
Webster put Knight Riders in charge in the chase (Randy Brookes - CPT20)
Victory was in sight with two overs to go but three wickets fell in the 19th (Seifert, Kieron Pollard and Seekkuge Prasanna were all dismissed) bowled by Alzarri Joseph.
The West Indies international finished with 4 for 17 and turned the final over to Scott Kuggeleijn.
With two needed, Kuggeleijn started with a dot but Anderson Phillip took no liberties from the next delivery, launching the ball for a straight six to confirm victory.
Player of the match Hosein said: "I'm pretty flexible where I can bowl. It was a bit slow and didn't spin as much as we thought."
Trinbago are next in action against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Saturday (September 3), while Kings have the chance to bounce back against Barbados Royals the following day.
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