- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 22/Aug 18:44

Allround Holder leads Patriots to CPL win over Royals

FORMER Windies skipper Jason Holder put on an excellent allround display at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on August 21 as he led his St Kitts and Nevis Patriots team to an exciting 12-run victory over Barbados Royals in another Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) thriller. Batting first, the Patriots made a competitive total of 174 for eight, with Holder (38 off 21 balls) and Kyle Mayers (42 off 28) being the backbone of the innings. After the Patriots slipped to 63 for four in the ninth over, Holder and Mayers put on a timely 49 for the fifth wicket – hitting two and three sixes respectively. Left-arm seamer Ramon Simmonds led the Royals with impressive figures of three for 26 as he got the key wickets of Holder, Evin Lewis (nine) and Rilee Rossouw (six). Australian left-armer Daniel Sams was also steady with figures of two for 24. Trying to avoid a fourth home loss in five matches, the Patriots looked to be up against it as the Royals were cruising at 98 for three just past the halfway mark. However, Sherfane Rutherford (eight), captain Rovman Powell (21) and top-scorer Kadeem Alleyne (42 off 28) fell in quick succession as the Barbados franchise slid to 126 for six by the 15th over. [caption id="attachment_1173717" align="alignnone" width="1024"] St Kitts and Nevis Patriots wicket-keeper/batsman Mohammad Rizwan is bowled by Barbados Royals' Jomel Warrican during their Men's 2025 Republic Bank CPL match at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis on August 21. - Photo courtesy Randy Brooks/CPL T20 via Getty Images[/caption] When Powell was dismissed by Pakistan seamer Naseem Shah (two for 32), the Royals needed a manageable 49 off 33 balls. Giving himself the responsibility to bowl at the death, Holder struck with massive blows in the 17th over as he bowled both Sams (16 off eight) and Nyeem Young (golden duck) off consecutive balls. At 146 for eight, the Royals needed 29 off the last 21 balls. Crucially, they lost another wicket in the 18th over as Eathan Bosch (eight) was bowled by Shah. The number 11 batsman Simmonds then struck Shah for a four and a six to close out the 18th over to keep Royals’ hopes alive. However, with 15 still required for victory at the start of the penultimate over, the lanky Holder had the final say when he trapped Jomel Warrican (four) lbw to bowl out the Royals for 162 and give Patriots the clutch win. Warrican opted for a review, but the umpire’s call went Holder’s way as he finished with heroic figures of four for 14 from 3.2 overs to sink his former team. The Patriots moved to four points from five matches, with the two-time champs Royals at the foot of the table with no points to show from two matches. Summarised Scores: ST KITTS AND NEVIS PATRIOTS 174/8 (20 overs) (Kyle Mayers 42, Jason Holder 38, Andre Fletcher 25; Ramon Simmonds 3/26, Daniel Sams 2/34) vs BARBADOS ROYALS 162 (18.2 overs) (Kadeem Alleyne 42, Brandon King 22, Rovman Powell 21; J Holder 4/14, Naseem Shah 2/32). Patriots won by 12 runs.   The post Allround Holder leads Patriots to CPL win over Royals appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.