Jason Holder‘s outstanding all-around performance against the Barbados Royals keeps the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the running for a Caribbean Premier League playoff berth in 2025. In an exciting match at Kensington Oval, Holder scored his second half-century of the tournament before taking 2/32 with the ball as the Patriots prevailed by one run.
Mohammad Rizwan and Andre Fletcher’s opening partnership of 46 got the Patriots off to a respectable start after the Royals won the toss and decided to bowl. The Patriots were pinned back after Fletcher and Evin Lewis left inside three balls, making it harder for Rizwan to score. Before he was caught on the boundary trying to relieve the pressure, he tried many dabs and sweeps.
Chris Green kept things tight for the Royals while the Patriots, who had been 46 games undefeated, faltered to 74/5. The Holder masterclass took over the game after that. He and Navin Bidaisee put on 74 for the sixth wicket, giving the Patriots a manageable total, and Holder scored an undefeated 53.
Quintin de Kock and Brandon King put on 42 for the first wicket as the Royals got off to a strong start in their innings. Waqar Salamkheil and Bidaisee both bowled at about a run per ball from their four overs, but the Patriots’ extremely clean bowling prevented the Royals from ever actually taking the lead in the chase. A wild game swung back in favour of the Patriots, as the two also shared the wickets of the Royals openers.
Rassie van der Dussen and Sherfane Rutherford both had respectable beginnings; the latter finished undefeated at 37, but the Royals were always struggling to stay in the match due to frequent wickets.
Jason Holder had responsibility for defending 14 in order to win the game in the final over.
Jason Holder maintained composure as the Patriots won by a single run despite Van der Dussen hitting the opening ball for six.
Even though the Royals still have one game to go, they are now out of the tournament. If the Guyana Amazon Warriors lose both of their remaining group stage games by a significant enough margin for the Patriots to win the Net Run Rate calculations, the Patriots will advance to the knockout stages.
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