Forde Five-for and Pooran’s Unbeaten 81 Power St Lucia Kings to Top of CPL Table

Matthew Forde’s five-wicket haul and a brilliant unbeaten 81 from Kamil Pooran helped St Lucia Kings continue their winning run with a comfortable six-wicket victory over Jamaica Kingsmen in CPL 2026.

Chasing 170, St Lucia Kings reached 171 for 4 with 10 balls to spare, extending their unbeaten streak to three matches and moving to the top of the points table. The defeat ended Jamaica Kingsmen’s two-match winning run and left them among four teams tied on four points.

Forde tears through Kingsmen top order

Asked to bat first, Jamaica Kingsmen endured a disastrous powerplay as Forde ripped through their batting lineup.

The fast bowler claimed four wickets in the early stages, dismissing Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Rovman Powell and Hassan Khan. Usman Khan briefly threatened with a rapid 28 off 11 balls, while Powell fell for a golden duck.

Keemo Paul was then stumped for 11, leaving Kingsmen struggling at 71 for 6. Opener Keacy Carty, however, held the innings together and found an aggressive partner in Andre Russell.

Russell smashed three sixes during a 15-ball 25, helping add 41 runs with Carty before Maheesh Theekshana ended the partnership by having Russell caught at deep midwicket.

Carty continued his resistance and reached his half-century from 42 balls. He found another powerful partner in Odean Smith, who blasted 27 from 17 deliveries, including three sixes. Their 53-run stand from 34 balls lifted Kingsmen beyond 160.

Carty eventually fell in the final over for 50, becoming Forde’s fifth victim, but Jamaica Kingsmen had managed to post a competitive 169 for 9.

Pooran leads King's comfortable chase

St Lucia Kings began their chase cautiously after Tim Seifert, who had recently helped Manchester Super Giants win their maiden Hundred title, was dismissed by Hunain Shah in the fourth over.

Pooran and John Campbell then steadied the innings, taking Kings to 39 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.

The chase shifted decisively in the eighth over. Pooran and Campbell launched a spectacular sequence of six, six, six and four, dramatically reducing the required run rate to below eight an over.

Vitel Lawes briefly gave Jamaica Kingsmen hope by taking two wickets in his first over, but the target had already become manageable. Captain Roston Chase fell to a sharp yorker from Hunain Shah, but Pooran remained in control.

Obus Pienaar then produced a stunning late assault, smashing 34 from only 14 balls to take St Lucia Kings over the line with 10 deliveries remaining.

Pooran completed an outstanding innings of 81 not out from 49 balls, recording his second CPL fifty in his last four innings.

The victory underlined St Lucia Kings’ impressive form and lifted them to the top of the CPL 2026 standings, while Jamaica Kingsmen were left to regroup after a match in which Forde’s early spell and Pooran’s composed chase proved decisive.