De Villiers steers Barbados to victory

The match in a tweet: De Villiers delights as Barbados cruise home against St Kitts and Nevis, opening their account for CPL 2016.

The result: St Kitts and Nevis (8-162) defeated by the Barbados Tridents (3-166) by seven wickets with eight balls to spare.

The hero: South Africa superstar AB de Villiers has had an uncharacteristically lean trot of late, with his last score above fifty - in any format - coming in late May in the Indian Premier League. But he turned that around in devastating fashion against the Patriots, sharing a 63-run stand with Shoaib Malik and finishing unbeaten on 63. De Villiers reached the total from just 33 deliveries, launching three sixes into the Warner Park crowd. 

The consolation effort: While the Patriots' big names failed to fire, a half-century from opener Evin Lewis ensured the St Kitts bowlers had a decent total to defend. His half-century come from just 33 balls, while he was backed up by a quickfire 43 from Jonathan Carter. 

The international stars: Lendl Simmons' mixed fortunes at the top of the order for St Kitts continued, with the opener dismissed for two, while captain Faf du Plessis (8) wasn't able to fire. With the ball, Samuel Badree, Tabraiz Shamsi and Thisara Perera bore the brunt of de Villiers' aggression.The Barbados internationals fared better, with de Villiers' heroics well backed up by the efforts of countrymen Wayne Parnell (2-22) and David Weise (2-14), whose stingy efforts with the ball restricted the Patriots' batsmen.  

The support act: Shoaib Malik provided the perfect foil for de Villiers with a half-century of his own, scoring 54 from 46 deliveries. When Malik departed, Kieron Pollard (25 off 13) joined de Villiers at the crease and produced an entertaining cameo that ensured the visitors reached their target with eight balls to spare.

The catch: What was almost a stunning catch from St Kitts wicketkeeper Devon Thomas turned into a routine grab for Tabraiz Shamsi. Thomas dived sharply after an edge from Tridents batsman Steven Taylor, with the ball deflecting off the 'keepers gloves and lobbing to Shamsi, who took an easy catch at backward point.

The wash-up: Barbados's victory lifted them to fourth on the CPL table with one win from their first two matches, while St Kitts are third on the table thanks to their healthier net run rate, despite winning just one of their first four games. The CPL’s next fixture gets underway in Providence, Guyana (Friday 9am AEST) with the Amazon Warriors taking on the Jamaica Tallawahs.