By Himadullah Sohoo 
The St. Lucia Kings bounced back from their opening-day defeat to get their Caribbean Premier League campaign off to a winning start with a comprehensive 54-run victory over the Barbados Royals.
The Kings won the toss and elected to bat first, and they made the most of the opportunity, posting a formidable 201-6. Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis set the tone with a blistering opening stand of 61 before Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza added further runs with some impressive hitting. Jason Holder took 4-38 for the Royals, but he was unable to prevent the Kings from posting a big total.
The Royals’ reply never got going, as they lost five wickets in the Powerplay to be reduced to 21-4. Nyeem Young top-scored with 48, but it was a largely disappointing performance from the Royals, who were eventually bowled out for 147.
Matthew Forde was the pick of the Kings bowlers, taking 3-12, while Alzarri Joseph and Obed McCoy also picked up one wicket apiece.
The win is a timely boost for the Kings, who will be looking to build on this performance in their next match. The Royals, meanwhile, will need to find a way to improve their batting if they are to challenge for the title this season.
Brief Scorecard of Barbados Royals vs Saint Lucia Kings:
Saint Lucia Kings 201/6 (Williams 47, Du Plessis 46; Holder 4/38, Qais 2/35)
Barbados Royals 147 all out (Young 48, Ferreira 19; Forde 3/12, Raza 1/21)
Result: Saint Lucia Kings won by 54 runs
Zainab Shafiq 
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