AB de Villiers led Barbados Tridents to their first win in the Caribbean Premier League 2016 on July 5. He scored an unbeaten 63 off 33 balls to help his team defeat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 7 wickets.
What happened?
The match took place at Warner Park in St Kitts. Tridents got off to a cautious start before Thisara Perera had Steven Taylor caught for just 3.
Key performances
Shoaib Malik scored 54 and partnered with AB de Villiers to add 63 runs for the third wicket. Kieron Pollard also played a crucial role, scoring 25 not out off 13 balls.
Turning point
The turning point came when AB de Villiers was given a reprieve after nicking one to the keeper in the 15th over. He was on 33 off 19 at that time.
The Tridents needed 55 runs to win after Shoaib Malik was dismissed. But AB de Villiers and Kieron Pollard timed their onslaught to perfection, adding 58 runs for the fourth wicket in just 4.4 overs.
Opposition performance
Evin Lewis scored a 33-ball 50 for the Patriots, while Jonathan Carter added 41. But their efforts were not enough as the Patriots posted a par score of 162/8 in 20 overs.
AB de Villiers got to his first half-century in the CPL off 27 balls in the 18th over. The Tridents finished with 166/3 in 18.4 overs, winning by 7 wickets.
The win helped Tridents jump from the bottom of the table to the fourth position ahead of Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks. AB de Villiers' unbeaten 63 was the highlight of the match.
The Patriots lost Lendl Simmons and Faf du Plessis early, but Evin Lewis and Jonathan Carter propelled the team ahead with a 54-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Devon Thomas played some crisp strokes to get to a 17-ball 21 before his promising innings was cut short by a run out from Wayne Parnell.
The Patriots failed to recover from untimely blows and posted a score that wasn't enough, especially with AB de Villiers on song.
Brief scores: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 162/8 in 20 overs (Evin Lewis 50, Jonathan Carter 41; David Wiese 2-14, Wayne Parnell 2-22) lost to Barbados Tridents 166/3 in 18.4 overs (AB de Villiers 63*, Shoaib Malik 54) by seven wickets on July 5.