The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were crowned the new champions of the Caribbean Premier League after they defeated Saint Lucia Kings in the final at St Kitts in a last-ball thriller.
Chasing 160 in 20 overs, the Patriots rode on a fine piece of batting from Dominic Drakes who struck an unbeaten 48 off 24 that included three maximums and as many fours during the course to win the match. While the tournament saw a new team taking over the reign, it also witnessed some brilliant individual performances.
Some of these individual contributions came from the bowlers as well where they single handedly turned the fortunes for their respective teams. Here we look at the top five bowlers from this season of the CPL.
Ravi Rampaul (TKR)
The right-arm medium fast bowler Ravi Rampaul tops this list as he unleashed some brilliant piece of bowling during the course of the tournament. The right-hander who plays for the Trinbago Knight Riders team CPL was capped 10 times in this edition and he scalped a total of 19 wickets at an average of just over 16 and bowled at an impressive economy rate of 7.96.
Rampaul bagged one four-wicket haul and a couple of three-fors during the competition. His best figures of 4/29 came against Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Trinbago though were eliminated from CPL 2021 after they suffered a defeat against Saint Lucia Kings in the semi-final.
Romario Shepherd (GAW)
Next in this list is Guyana Amazon Warriors’ fast bowler Romario Shepherd who played nine matches in this edition of the CPL and bagged a total of 18 wickets at a superb average of 14.11 and an economy rate of 7.69.
The right-arm bowler picked up a three-wicket haul as many as five times in the tournament and his best bowling figures of 3/15 came against Trinbago Knight Riders in the initial stage of the season. He also notched up a half-century against the Jamaica Tallawahs team.
Guyana lost the semi-final to Patriots and bowed out of the tournament.
Odean Smith (GAW)
The tally for the top five bowlers in CPL 2021 has another name from the Guyana Amazon Warriors side, Odean Smith who featured for the side in 11 matches.
Smith scalped a total of 18 wickets at an average of 14.88 and at an economy of 7.54. Smith bagged a three-fer thrice in the competition while his individual best figures of 3/20 came against Jamaica Tallawahs.
Dominic Drakes (SKNP)
Left-handed medium pace bowler Dominic Drakes is the next bowler in this elite list. Drakes probably played a massive role in the Patriots' successful campaign in this edition of the CPL.
The left-hander picked up a total of 16 wickets in 11 matches that he played at an average of 20.68 and an economy rate of 8.56 and made a vital contribution with the bat in the all important final.
He remained unbeaten at 48 off 24 and anchored his side to a maiden title win.
David Wiese (SLK)
Saint Lucia Kings might have ended up at the losing end in the final of the CPL 2021 but David Wiese played a crucial role in getting the side to the title clash.
The right-hander didn’t play much in the tournament but stamped his authority with the ball after returning with two five-wicket hauls in only five matches in which he was capped for the Kings. He picked up a total of 11 wickets at an average of 13.27.
Wiese’s first fifer came against the Royals where he returned with the figures of 5/25 and the second one came against Trinabgo Knight Riders in the semi-final match. Wiese picked up 5 wickets at the cost of 39 runs in this match.
The Saint Lucia Kings ended the CPL 2021 as the runners-up after suffering a defeat in the final against the Patriots.
There is one name that wasn’t able to make it to the top five list but deserves all the appreciation. Barbados Royals’ Mohammad Amir had a decent time during the course of the tournament where he played 7 matches for the Royals and picked up 11 wickets at an average of 13.54.
The most impressive aspect of his bowling was the economy rate of 6.12.