Holder Stars With Bat and Ball
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots kept their CPL 2025 playoff hopes alive with a thrilling one-run victory over the Barbados Royals, who were eliminated from contention. Captain Jason Holder was the standout performer, anchoring the Patriots’ innings with an unbeaten 53 and delivering a match-defining final over with the ball, defending 13 runs to seal the win.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒎 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔,” 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Patriots finished their campaign with eight points, sitting fifth on the table. Guyana Amazon Warriors hold fourth place with the same points and can clinch the final playoff spot with victories in their remaining matches. Meanwhile, St Lucia Kings, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons have already secured playoff positions.
Key Contributions and the Final Over Drama
Earlier, Patriots had struggled at 62 for 4 after ten overs, but Mohammad Rizwan’s 39 off 36 balls gave them a platform. Holder’s partnership with Navin Bidaisee (30 off 23) added 74 runs for the sixth wicket, propelling Patriots to a competitive 150 for 7.
Holder also led from the front in the bowling department, claiming two crucial wickets in the death overs. The final over was a tense spectacle: Royals required 14 runs to win, and Rassie van der Dussen hit a six to bring it down to eight off five balls. Holder remained composed under pressure and executed a perfect yorker to trap Daniel Sams lbw off the last ball, securing a sensational one-run win.
“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚.”
Royals’ Strong Start Fizzles
Barbados Royals began positively, with opener Brandon King contributing 29 off 22 as the team raced to 44 for 1 by the end of the powerplay. However, middle overs saw momentum slip away as Patriots’ bowlers, particularly Waqar Salamkheil and Naseem Shah, struck to slow the chase. Quinton de Kock’s 37 off 27 offered resistance, but it wasn’t enough. Salamkheil and Bidaisee both claimed two wickets apiece, further highlighting Patriots’ all-round effort.
The Patriots’ thrilling finish keeps their playoff hopes alive and proves once again why Jason Holder is one of CPL’s most influential all-rounders.
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