Buoyed by a statement win over five-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) on Saturday, Jamaica Kingsmen Captain Rovman Powell says his side will look to carry that momentum into tonight’s final home game.

The Kingsmen face St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (STKNP) at Sabina Park at 7:00 pm, with two crucial points on the line before heading on the road.

“If we can come up with another two points there, it would help us a lot…going on the road,” Powell said.

The Kingsmen opened their Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026 campaign with a commanding five-wicket win over TKR, chasing 183 with eight balls to spare.

It was a complete performance built on a blazing 93-run opening stand between Kirk McKenzie Jr (69 runs) and Reeza Hendricks (37 runs), and finished by experience in Powell (29 not out) and Andre Russell (27 runs).

The wheels wobbled briefly when Usman Tariq removed McKenzie on the last ball of the seventh over, then bowled Shayan Jahangir for two and had Hendricks caught next over.

Pollard had Keacy Carty caught for 11 to leave the Kingsmen at 126-4 in the 14th over, but Powell and Russell steadied things with a 48-run stand. Hasan Khan was three not out. Tarig finished with three for 21 from four overs.

Earlier, TKR, sent in to bat, posted 182-6 from 20 overs. Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard each hit 44. Alex Hales made 29 and Colin Munro added 16. For the Kingsmen, Russell and Hunain Shah took two wickets each.

Powell credited the coaching staff for maintaining unity during the losing streak, noting that a day spent together without training helped the squad to jell.

“When we were 3-0 down, they didn’t go in their different corners and bicker. They stick together. We spent a nice day together, no training, just spend some time together and see if we can get to understand each other,” he said.

Jamaica Kingsmen captain Rovman Powell plays a shot. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

”When you form new teams, the players, they take a little bit of time to get jelly. Some of the guys are from Pakistan, South Africa, and across the Caribbean, and that jelling takes a little bit of time. And it’s just good to get a win in front of our own fans.”

Powell said that McKenzie was promoted to open the batting as a left-hander to counter spinner Akeal Hosein during the power play.

“We know Akeal Hosein would be the threat up top with the new ball, so we decided to send a left-hander to go and take him on and see how much he can get us in the powerplay.

“When chasing a score like that, with Trinidad having three quality spinners, you want to get a good start because you know in the middle overs when Sunil Narine takes the ball, it’s going to be difficult to hit,” Powell said.

He said that against TKR, he and Russell targeted the depth bowling late.

“When we started trying to play out Sunil Narine and Usman Tarig, you could hear the crowd coming down on myself and Russell. But at that point we have enough experience to know that is the game.

“You know, if one of them gets us out, then we’ll look stupid. So once we do, we try to push it as deep as possible because Trinidad’s weakness is their depth bowling,” Powell said.

Powell acknowledged the home fans as the “12th man”, thanking them for their support despite the initial losses and noting their role in the team’s momentum.

“We always believe that the fans are the 12th man…and credit has to be given to them. You can see they were cricket-thirsty, you know, and they came out and support us for the first three games. I wholeheartedly tell them thanks for that, you know, but we’re not done, you know, we still have one more game to go at home,” he said.

Jamaica Kingsmen’s Andre Russell (left) flicks away the ball while Trinbago Knight Riders wicketkeeper Shayan Jahangir looks on during their CPL match at Sabina Park on Saturday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)