NewzKeemo Paul says the Jamaica Kingsmen never lost confidence, and on Tuesday night at Sabina Park he proved why. The all-rounder smashed a half-century and took three wickets to lead Jamaica to a 51-run win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots — a result that lifted the Kingsmen to back-to-back wins after an 0-3 start and sent them to St Lucia on Friday with momentum. Paul credited the turnaround to belief in the group and the energy from home fans.
“Well, first of all, the last two games have been perfect for us. We lost three, but we never lost confidence. The crowd has been behind us all the time.
They’ve been supporting, and they’ve been driving us. So coming into this game, our confidence was high,” he said. We obviously didn’t want to bat first, but we had to.
We got some runs on the board, and in the end we came out victorious. So now we’re two on the trot, and we want to continue this momentum.” Sent in to bat, the Kingsmen were in trouble immediately. They were 0 for 2 inside the first over and later 54 for 4 in 7.2 overs after Saurabh Netravalkar and Wanindu Hasaranga ripped through the top order.
That’s when Paul and captain Rovman Powell took over. Keemo Paul celebrates the Kingsmen victory over Patriots in their CPL match at Sabina Park on Tuesday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) Paul survived an lbw review early in his knock, then cut loose.
He hammered 65 from 36 balls with five sixes and six fours. Powell played the perfect foil with 49 from 39 balls, including four fours and three sixes. Their 99-run stand for the fifth wicket dragged Jamaica to 153 for 5 in 17.3 overs, and set the platform for a big finish.
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