Holder shines again, Titans go to IPL summit

Jason Holder's dream Indian Premier League (IPL) season continued today, as the lanky Barbados allrounder grabbed figures of three for 20 in Gujarat Titans' emphatic 82-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the process, Gujarat moved to the top of the IPL table with 16 points from their 12 matches, with today's result being their fifth straight win in the 2026 season. 

Batting first, Gujarat made a modest 168 for five, with Sai Sudharsan (61 off 44 balls) and Washington Sundar (50 off 33) both hitting half-centuries. Holder made 11 not out at the back end, but it's with the ball where he and the Titans flexed their muscles as the Sunrisers were bowled out for just 86 in 14.5 overs. 

First, the pair of Kagiso Rabada (three for 28) and Mohammed Siraj (one for 11) rattled the Sunrisers in the power play as they slipped to 32 for four by the sixth over as the dangerous trio of Travis Head (duck), Abhishek Sharma (six) and Ishan Kishan (11) were all dismissed cheaply. 

Jason Holder (L) and his Gujarat Titans teammates celebrate a wicket in their IPL clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 12. Photo courtesy the IPL's Facebook page 

Holder joined the party in the 11th over with the key scalp of South African Heinrich Klassen (14) before having Nitish Reddy (two) caught by Sundar just three balss later. In his next over, Holder had Shivang Kumar (four) caught behind as the Sunrisers slid to 72 for eight. Ace Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan put the Sunrisers out of their misery when he had Praful Hinge (three) stumped by Jos Buttler.  

Holder's three-wicket burst has taken him up to 13 wickets from just six matches in this year's IPL campaign. 

Summarised Scores: 

GUJARAT TITANS: 168/5 from 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 61, Washington Sundar 50, Nishant Sindhu 22; Praful Hinge 2/17, Sakib Hussain 2/37) vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: 86 from 14.5 overs (Pat Cummins 19, Salil Arora 16; Jason Holder 3/20, Kagiso Rabada 3/28). Titans won by 82 runs. 

Phillip grabs six, but Red Force falter with bat

The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force bowlers picked up where they left off on the opening day of their West Indies Championship Four-Day clash with the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, as they bowled out the opposition for just 131 in the first innings at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, earlier today. 

However, unlike the first meeting between the two teams, the Red Force batsmen hardly had things their own way, as the visitors were left in a precarious position at 85 for six by the end of the day's play. 

Coming off an emphatic innings and 271-run victory over the Leewards, Red Force captain Joshua Da Silva didn't hesitate when he won the toss this morning, sending the hosts to bat first. The Red Force didn't have to wait long to see positive returns, and fast bowler Anderson Phillip bossed the first half of the day's proceedings with figures of six for 38. Phillip bowled with good pace and hit a consistent length on off stump, dislodging the top four of Mikyle Louis (13), Kadeem Henry (13), Keacy Carty (four) and the struggling Jewel Andrew (golden duck). 

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force fast bowler Anderson Phillip. Photo courtesy Red Force

Drafted into the playing XI for this game, number three batsman Karima Gore was the only player who offered resistance as he cracked 57 off 90 balls, and was ultimately the last man out as he drove Terrance Hinds (one for 46) out to Jason Mohammed at deep cover. 

Jayden Seales also had a good day with ball in hand and returned figures of three for 33 as he took the wickets of Justin Greaves (six), Jahmar Hamilton (duck), and Rahkeem Cornwall (two). 

With the first day's pattern seemingly following the script from the first encounter, the Leewards fast bowlers quickly had their say to make several inroads of their own. Perhaps inspired after receiving his Leewards cap from legendary Windies pacer Curlty Ambrose before the start of play, Kelvin Pitman rocked the Red Force top order with figures of four for 20. Not to be outdone, burly Jamaican pacer Oshane Thomas (two for 32) once again bowled with pace and hostility to clean up Evin Lewis (18) and dismiss first-match double centurion Amir Jangoo for 13. Thomas wasn't done there, as he also struck Jyd Goolie (six) on the hand with a rapid bouncer, forcing the left-hander to retire his innings. 

Leeward Islands Hurricanes fast bowler Kelvin Pitman receives his playing cap from the legendary Curtly Ambrose

Though Phillip may have thought his exploits with the ball warranted a well-deserved rest, he has joined a watchful Da Silva (16 not out) in the middle. Together, the pair will hope they grind out enough runs to give Red Force a lead going into the second innings. The hosts currently have a 46-run lead, but with three days left, this contest is far from over. 

Roundup of scores in the West Indies Four-Day Championship after today's action. Photo courtesy Cricket West Indies media 

Summarised Scores: 

LEEWARD ISLANDS HURRICANES - 131 (Karima Gore 57, Jeremiah Louis 19, Mikyle Louis 13; Anderson Phillip 6/38, Jayden Seales 3/33) vs TT RED FORCE - 85/6 (Evin Lewis 18, Joshua Da Silva 16 not out, Amir Jangoo 13; Kelvin Pitman 4/20, Oshane Thomas 2/32). Leewards lead by 46 runs. 

Hope wants more ruthless approach from Windies batsmen

West Indies skipper Shai Hope would like to see a more purposeful approach from his batsmen as they move into the Super 8 phase of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup from February 23. 

The Windies finished atop group C with a perfect record after defeating newcomers Italy by 42 runs in their final group match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on February 19. Speaking at the post-match ceremony after the victory over the Italians, Hope said the bowlers have got their execution down to a T thus far in the tourney, but reckoned there’s still room for improvement in the batting department. 

“It's a fine margin. Yes, we know we have batting depth, but batting smarts still need to be applied, especially when you're coming up against opposition – it's international cricket – that can get you on any day,” Hope said, when asked about the team’s ability to recover from the loss of early wickets. 

“You've still got to be clinical and ruthless with the way you go about your strokeplay. As much depth as we have, we still have to make sure we capitalise on those deliveries. Regardless of who's out there in the middle, we've got to make sure we do it for the team.” 

The Windies captain top-scored with a typically fluent 75 off 46 balls against Italy. However, the rest of the batsmen weren’t flowing as smoothly against the Europeans as the West Indies eventually got to a modest score of 165 for six after being asked to bat first. Both Roston Chase and Sherfane Rutherford made 24, while Matthew Forde chipped in at the back end with 16 not out off eight balls. 

West Indies captain Shai Hope (L) and Roston Chase run between the wickets at the 2026 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's T20 World Cup. Photo courtesy ICC

Hope spoke to his team’s unfamiliarity with the majority of Italy’s bowlers, but said his charges must improve if they are faced with similar challenges going forward. 

“I felt we could have put a little more impetus into the innings, especially in the middle. But again, all learnings to take from it,” he said. “If we're ever faced with that situation again, we have to find ways to be a bit more enforceful, especially when you've got better opposition to play. Not putting anything against Italy, but when crunch time comes, you've got to ensure you're capitalising on more deliveries.” 

For the third time in four matches, the Windies bowled out their opponents as the Italians only got up to 123 from 18 overs. Shamar Joseph cleaned up the tail and finished with career-best T20 figures of four for 30, while Forde set the tone again in the power play and took three for 19 in his four overs. Left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie (two for 24) and Akeal Hosein (one for 25) were also among the wickets. 

“I'm very proud of the bowling group. They're just executing really well. And not only from this tour, but even from a few series ago. We're just hitting the straps where we need to. I just feel as though the confidence and clarity we find in our bowlers gives us a lot clearer execution,” he said. 

“In this situation, it's about doing it over and over and doing it all the way through until we can get as far in the competition as we can get.” 

The Men in Maroon face surprise package and group B winners Zimbabwe in their first Super 8 match in Mumbai on February 23, before playing group D winners South Africa on February 26 and reigning champs India on March 1. The top two teams in each of the Super 8 groups will advance to the semis which will be played on March 4 and 5, respectively. The final will be played on March 8.