A brilliant all-round display from Jason Holder against the Barbados Royals kept the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the hunt for a spot in the 2025 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) playoffs. Holder made his second half-century of the tournament before taking 2/32 with the ball as the Patriots won by one run in a thrilling encounter at Kensington Oval.
The Royals won the toss and chose to bowl, and the Patriots got off to a decent start thanks to an opening stand of 46 between Mohammad Rizwan and Andre Fletcher. When Fletcher and Evin Lewis departed in the space of three balls, it set the Patriots back, and Rizwan found scoring more difficult. He attempted a number of dabs and sweeps before being caught on the boundary looking to release the pressure.
Having made 46 without loss, the Patriots stumbled to 74/5 as Chris Green kept things tight for the Royals. It was from there that the Holder masterclass took hold of this match, as he made an unbeaten 53 as he and Navin Bidaisee put on 74 for the sixth wicket to give the Patriots a defendable total.
It was a steady start from the Royals when their innings got underway, with Quinton de Kock and Brandon King putting on 42 for the first wicket. Some very tidy bowling from the Patriots spinners kept the Royals from ever really getting on top in the chase, with both Waqar Salamkheil and Bidaisee both going at around a run a ball from their four overs. With the two also sharing the wickets of the Royals openers, a topsy-turvy game swung back towards the Patriots.
strong start, but his effort proved in vain
Sherfane Rutherford and Rassie van der Dussen both made decent starts, with the latter finishing undefeated on 37, but regular wickets meant the Royals were always fighting to stay in the game.
n the final over, Holder took the ball with 14 to defend. Van der Dussen launched the first delivery for six, but Holder kept his cool, and the Patriots edged home by just one run.
The Royals are now eliminated from the tournament despite having one match left to play.
The Patriots, however, can make it to the knockout stages if the Guyana Amazon Warriors lose both of their final group stage matches by a wide enough margin for the Net Run Rate calculations to favour the Patriots.
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