McKenzie blitz earns first points for Kingsmen

Jamaica Kingsmen broke their winless run in CPL 2026, comfortably chasing down 183 against defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders at Sabina Park on Saturday. Kirk McKenzie powered the Kingsmen with a rampant 25-ball 69, before cameos from Andre Russell and skipper Rovman Powell added the finishing touches as the hosts got home by five wickets with eight balls to spare.

McKenzie teed off from the outset, stepping out to loft Akeal Hosein in the opening over, before tearing into him for an 18-run third over. While he largely chose to play Sunil Narine out, he also nailed a slog-sweep off the veteran spinner. The pacers endured a nightmare though, underlined by Terrance Hinds’ 25-run over to round off the Powerplay as McKenzie raced to a 19-ball fifty.

The southpaw also attacked Usman Tariq for a six but was bowled the moment he attempted one shot too many. By the time he was dismissed, however, the Kingsmen had racked up 93 in seven overs. Reeza Hendricks played second fiddle in the opening partnership but extended the Kingsmen’s dominance with a 29-ball 37. Tariq, who bowled his four overs at a stretch, nabbed two more wickets to leave the door slightly ajar for the Knight Riders with the scoring rate also dipping in the process, following which Kieron Pollard removed Keacy Carty.

But the Kingsmen did not get desperate, with Russell wisely choosing to play out Narine’s final over. With 54 needed off the last five overs, he slammed a six and two fours off Hinds before Powell joined him as the duo made merry in a 28-run Nathan Edward over that brought the equation down to single digits. Russell was dismissed, but Powell got the Kingsmen home, doing the job in singles.

Earlier in the evening, TKR struggled for early momentum after being inserted to bat. Colin Munro laboured to a 26-ball 16 before Russell put him out of his misery in the final Powerplay over. Alex Hales failed to convert his start while Nicholas Pooran began slowly, with TKR desperately looking to kick on at 77/2 after the 12th over. The momentum they were after came in the form of Pollard, who clobbered three sixes and a four off Vitel Lawes. That rubbed off on Pooran, who switched gears at the other end in a 67-run partnership for the third wicket.

Both fell in quick succession but cameos from Jyd Goolie and Sunil Narine took TKR past 180, Despite wrestling momentum their way though, they fell well short of a winning total.

Brief Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 182/6 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 44, Nicholas Pooran 44; Hunain Shah 2-31, Andre Russell 2-34) lost to Jamaica Kingsmen 183/5 in 18.4 overs (Kirk McKenzie 69, Reeza Hendricks 37, Rovman Powell 29*; Usman Tariq 3-21) by 5 wickets