SNP vs ABF, Review | Waqar Salamkhiel's spell and Alick Athanaze’s knock ensure Patriots their first win of season

‌ST Kitts and Nevis Patriots won the toss and chose to field first in the opening game of the season. The game started with an evenly matched power play where opener Karima Gore got off to a flyer, but kept losing partners at the other end as the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons ended the first six overs on a score of 51/3. Gore continued to take the innings forward with some great strokeplay in the middle, but still did not get the required support at the other end as Fabian Allen's furniture stumps were cleaned by left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil, and Shakib al Hasan was struggling to score runs at the end. Though only 32 runs came in the next four overs, the visitors were still in a decent position in terms of runs, with the score reading 83/4 after 10 overs. Though the game still seemed in the balance at the halfway stage, the Patriots' bowlers dominated the second half of the innings. As soon as Fazalhaq Farooqui brought Gore’s incredible knock of 61 off 34 deliveries to an end in the 12th over, the match took a disastrous turn, especially after Salamkhiel returned in the 14th over with a couple of more scalps. The Afghan spinner ended Shakib’s sluggish stay at the crease as the Bangladesh legend gave a simple catch to mid-off and followed it up by knocking over Odean Smith for a sliver duck in the next two balls. Patriots skipper Jason Holder entered the wickets column in the 15th over as the Antigua franchise lost four wickets for just 21 runs in the next five overs, with the score reading 104/8. The innings came to an end in 17.1 overs with Salamkhiel getting the wicket of Antigua skipper Imad Wasim to claim his fourth victim, and Naseem Shah got the final wicket of Jayden Seales. The Falcons were bundled out for just 121 with only a half-century by Gore to look back on.