The 2025 edition of the International League T20 (ILT20) culminated on Sunday with Dubai Capitals clinching the title. In the summit clash, Dubai registered a thrilling four-wicket win over Desert Vipers to ear their maiden title. Opting to bowl first, the Capitals conceded 189 runs as Max Holden and skipper Sam Curran scored 76 and 62 runs respectively for the Vipers. Later, the Capitals bounced back in style and chased down the target with four balls to spare. Apart from this thrilling chase, the match also had a controversial moment.

In the 8th over of the Capitals’ chase, Vipers wicketkeeper Azam Khan showed his amazing skills to stump out Rovman Powell on Nathan Sowter’s delivery. As the Vipers began to celebrate Powell’s dismissal, the TV umpire saw that Azam’s gloves were in line with the stumps when stumped out Powell.

Drama drama drama!

An erroneous stumping No ball declared Batter called back Wide Free Hit hit for

And ALL that action in just ONE BALL! It’s all happening out there!#Final #DPWorldILT20 #TheFinalPush #AllInForCricket @DPWorldUAE @DP_World @ilt20onzee pic.twitter.com/Hlf6Im5m2l

— International League T20 (@ILT20Official) February 9, 2025

Hence, the Caribbean batter was called back as the delivery was declared a no-ball. However, the action did not end here. The next delivery, which was a free-hit, Sowter ended up throwing it as a wide ball. Finally, when he delivered the next ball perfectly, Powell comfortably smashed it for a six.

This blunder by Azam Khan proved to be expensive for the Vipers as he went on to score 63 off 38 balls.

Talking about the match, chasing 189, Sikandar Raza provided the decisive late surge with a blistering 12-ball 34, sealing victory in the final over. Earlier, Rovman Powell’s 63 and Shai Hope‘s composed 43 (in 39 balls, with two fours and a six) laid the foundation for the Capitals’ triumphant chase, as per an ILT20 press release.

For the Vipers, Max Holden’s innings of 76 runs weathered the loss of early wickets before Sam Curran took control of proceedings with an unbeaten half-century, studded with five fours and three sixes. Azam Khan also stepped up on the occasion with a boundary-laden cameo of 27 runs in the death overs.

The Capitals beat the Desert Vipers for a sixth consecutive time. Capitals took home the cash prize of USD 700,000 while the Desert Vipers were awarded USD 300,000.

Adding to the excitement of a grand final and a new champion, the ILT20’s signature awards that recognise outstanding individual performances saw Shai Hope walk away with the Green Belt (best batter), finishing the competition with 529 runs. MI Emirates’ Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed the White Belt (best bowler) for his 21 wickets in 11 innings.

After three consecutive ODI defeats, Bangladesh finally returned to winning ways with a narrow 7-run victory over the West Indies in the 1st T20I at Arnos Vale Ground. The West Indies managed to make it out a nail-biting affair, courtesy of skipper Rovman Powell’s blitzkrieg, But in reality, the hosts never really recovered from the damage caused by Mahedi Hasan in the powerplay. While chasing a modest 148-run total, the Caribbean side faced problems as Mahedi made early inroads through their batting lineup.

The West Indies had already lost Brandon King before Mahedi was introduced to bowl in the powerplay. In his second delivery of the match, Mahedi caught the big fish, Nicholas Pooran. He invited him to step out of the crease to have a go at him. Pooran shimmered down the crease, went for a swing and missed the ball, which held a straight trajectory. The explosive batter was well short of the crease as Litton gathered the ball and dislodged the bails in a jiffy.

West Indies found reprieve in the next over with Johnson Charles going berserk against Tanzim Hasan Sakib. He tonked two sixes and followed it up with a crisp four to accumulate 25 runs from the over.

But the impending end from Mahedi ended Charles’ deal with the boundaries. The opener took the aerial route, but the desired elevation was something that was missed dearly. The ball landed in Hasan Mahmud’s hands at mid-off.

With the West Indies tottering at run-a-ball 36 and three wickets down after the first six overs, Mahedi dealt a massive blow to make their chase a lost cause.

He delivered a match-defining over to remove Andre Fletcher for a four-ball duck and then Roston Chase for 7(13). With the West Indies looking down and out at 39/5, Powell knew his side needed something special from him.

Powell kept the hopes alive with Romario Shepherd playing the second fiddle to his skipper. The duo paced their knocks according to the situation and brought down the equation to 20 needed in 18 balls.

With victory once again in sight, Bangladesh pacers held their nerves to see off the game. Taskin Ahmed removed Shepherd (22), but Powell’s threat continued to loom in the atmosphere.

In the final over, Hasan Mahmud had 10 runs to defend while facing Powell. Mahmud bowled it wide, and Powell went for a flashy drive. He only found an outside edge, which was taken by the wicketkeeper. Mahmud castled Alzarri Joseph to seal a 7-run victory for Bangladesh.

Earlier in the match, after being put to bat by the hosts, Bangladesh needed moments of individual brilliance to find their way to 147/6. Soumya Sarkar played a blistering knock of 43(32), while Jaker Ali (27), Mahedi (26*) and Shamim Hossain (27) made invaluable contributions towards the end, which took the visitors to a fighting total.

5th T20I between West Indies and England washed out due to rain© AFP

West Indies, led by explosive half centuries from openers Shai Hope and Evin Lewis, chased down a target of 219 to beat England with an over to spare to win by five wickets in their T20I on Saturday. The game was a dead rubber with England having already won the opening three matches of the five-match series but the crowd at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground were treated to some high-scoring entertainment as West Indies enjoyed their second highest successful run chase in T20Is.

England openers Phil Salt and Will Jacks put on 54 runs for the first wicket before Alzarri Joseph got Jacks caught behind off the final ball of the fifth over.

But Salt continued to take full advantage of a good batting track as he took England to 102 before he was removed by Roston Chase in the tenth over for 55 having his four sixes and five fours.

Skipper Jos Buttler hit 38 off 23 but it was an unbeaten 62 from Jacob Bethell and a useful 24 from 13 balls from Sam Curran that took England to a strong score.

West Indies top order has struggled in this series but this time Hope and Lewis attacked England from the outset, swiftly reduced the run-rate.

Hope brought up his 50 off 23 balls — slamming a short ball from Rehan Ahmed through midwicket to reach his half century.

Lewis, who had played a supporting role, went on the offensive hitting Liam Livingstone for three sixes in the eighth over and he too reached his half-century (26 balls) when he pulled Curran through square leg for four.

Rehan Ahmed finally got the breakthrough when Lewis mistimed a cover-drive to Dan Mousley, the West Indies opener departing for 68 including seven sixes with England in a commanding position at 136-1

With the next ball Hope departed, run out by Livingstone, and England picked up a third wicket in as many balls when Nicholas Pooran was bowled by Ahmed after finding the inside edge.

Suddenly, West Indies were 136-3 and with a new pair at the crease and England sensed the chance to turn the game around.

But skipper Rovman Powell showed no nerves as he hit 38 from 23 balls with three sixes before he was trapped lbw by John Turner.

Sharfane Rutherford saw the home side to a morale-boosting victory with his unbeaten 29 ending the contest by smashing Mousley for two sixes.

“Guys were more committed today,” said Powell. “It has been a series where you win the toss, win the game, but the guys played well — 3-2 is better than 4-1, still a lot to play for,” he said looking ahead to Sunday’s final game.

Despite the loss, Butler said he had few complaints about the performance.

“I thought it was an excellent wicket. We got off to a great start with Jacks and Salty. Thought we needed at least 220. They played exceptionally well, put us under pressure. I thought we played well, put up a good score and they played well to chase it down,” he said.

Jos Buttler‘s rampaging 83 powered England to an emphatic seven-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second match of their T20I series at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday. Responding to the home side’s total of 158 for eight, the visiting captain took the match by the scruff of the neck in belting eight fours and six sixes off only 45 balls to turn a potentially challenging target into a romp. The tourists reached 161 for three off just 14.4 overs to take a 2-0 lead heading into the final three matches of the duel in St. Lucia starting next Thursday.

Coming to the crease off just the second ball of the innings after Phil Salt, the century-making match-winner of Saturday’s first match, had fallen first ball to spinner Akeal Hosein, Buttler wasted little time in setting about a West Indies bowling attack missing suspended pacer Alzarri Joseph, injured fast-bowling all-rounder Andre Russell and fielding debutant seamer Terrance Hinds who endured a baptism of fire against a rampant Buttler.

A second T20I hundred looked his for the taking but after being badly dropped by Sherfane Rutherford at extra-cover off Romario Shepherd in the 13th over, the England skipper fell next ball as another attempted heave over the top found his West Indies counterpart, Rovman Powell at long-off.

Buttler inevitably dominated a second-wicket stand of 129 with Will Jacks, who contributed 38 off 29 balls with five fours and one six.

“It was scratchy for the first couple of balls but when I got going I really enjoyed it. It was great to be back out there,” said Buttler on receiving the “Man of the Match” award

Jacks was the first of two wickets for Shepherd, taken at second attempt at long-off by Matthew Forde, who had earlier played his part together with the rest of the West Indies lower-order to give the innings useful late impetus after they were put in to bat on a surface freshened by steady rain throughout the early morning.

Powell top-scored with 43 off 41 balls (two fours, two sixes) but his demise in the 16th over left the innings in trouble at 102 for six. Shepherd’s 22 off 12 balls breathed some late life into the home side’s effort with the support of the tail.

Liam Livingstone was the best of the bowlers with two for 16 and was there at the end to seal victory with an unbeaten 23 off 11 balls.

However nothing could take the shine off Buttler’s assault which leaves the tourists well-poised to avenge a 2-1 loss to the West Indies in the preceding ODI series.

West Indies defeated South Africa by 30 runs in 2nd T20I© AFP

West Indies will be without veteran all-rounders Jason Holder and Andre Russell for the three-match T20I series against South Africa at home, with a strong squad led by Rovman Powell for the series starting from August 24. After a 1-0 loss to South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship series, West Indies will aim to continue their good run in T20Is as they take on the Proteas. West Indies have won four of their last five bilateral T20I series and missed out on a place in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at home after losing to South Africa.

“Facing a strong South Africa side is an excellent opportunity for our team to reset and refocus with our game plan,” Miles Bascombe, Director of Cricket at Cricket West Indies (CWI), said as quoted by ICC.

“We have played them recently and had mixed results, so this should be an exciting and important series. I am confident in the squad we have selected, and with eyes already on the next T20 World Cup in 2026, I know the guys will be keen to show their hunger for success.”

The squad is notably without senior all-rounders Andre Russell and Jason Holder. While Russell requested a period of rest and recovery, Holder has been rested following five back-to-back Tests against England and South Africa.

The squad is strengthened by the additions of Alick Athanaze, who shone in the Test series, and 22-year-old pacer Matthew Forde, who last played in the bilateral series against South Africa in May.

South Africa had earlier named their squad for the three-match series. The three T20Is will be played between August 24-28.

West Indies T20I squad: Rovman Powell (c), Roston Chase (vc), Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd.

Relieved to have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, South Africa captain Aiden Markram acknowledged that the Proteas erred a bit in attempting to finish off the chase against West Indies too soon, leading to an unconvincing victory. South Africa did well to restrict the two-time champions to 135/8. In reply, the Proteas were 15/2 in two overs when rain disrupted proceedings for close to an hour. The South African batters saw the reduced revised target and improved batting conditions after rain as an opportunity to go hammer and tongs at the target of 123 but kept losing wickets as the hosts made things tight. But Makram and his men eventually got the work done.

“A lot of relief to get through to the semifinal. Not going to be brain-washed by that. We would have liked to be more convincing with bat in hand,” Markram said at the post match presentation.

“After the rain break, the wicket was playing nicely. We did not get the partnerships to then kill the game. Tried to kill it (the chase) too early, it put us in a tricky position. (The win) is massive for us and fantastic for the change room.” Markram hopes the nervy win will be a learning lesson for his side.

“We bowled really well, assessed conditions and kept them to a sub-par total. We could have build a partnership after the break and then take it from there, we will take that learning and hopefully not do that same mistake again.” With the wicket aiding spinners, Markram opted to to bowl wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3/27), Keshav Maharaj (1/24) and himself (1/28), while using pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen for two overs each.

“We picked Shamsi to have a mystery spinner against them and immediately saw it spinning, so we wanted to bowl as much spin as we can. If it wouldn’t spun that much then we would have used our pacers, not a lot of times when KG bowls only 2 overs.

“We have been doing really well, the bowling unit is firing and as a batting unit it is about when to take the game on. We need to be smart on those situations.”

Our ranking improvement is commendable: Rovman

Their hopes of winning an unprecedented third title were dashed but West Indies skipper Rovman Powell remained extremely proud of the progress the ‘Men in Maroon’ have made in the past year.

Having missed out on qualifying for the ODI World Cup last year, West Indies cricket seemed to have reached an all time low but under Powell’s captaincy, they have enjoyed a resurgence and climbed to the third spot in ICC T20 rankings.

“When you look on a large scale, we have not won the World Cup or in the semi-final, but if you look at the cricket we have played in the last 15 months, to go from No.9 to No.3 in the rankings, it is commendable.

“There is a lot of buzz in the Caribbean around West Indian cricket, and now is where the work starts. Continue to work together as a group and make the Caribbean people proud. When we hear the anthem, as players, we feel something and that is heading in the right direction.” After putting up a below-par target the West Indies bowlers put up an impressive display to take the match to the last over.

“Credit has to be given to the boys, they fought till the very end. As a batting group, this is a performance you’d want to forget. We did not bat well in the middle. It was not an easy wicket, especially to get started,” Powell said.

“In the middle overs, we lost wickets in clusters. That broke the back of our batting team. It was a commendable bowling effort. We said we wanted to give it our all. They (the team) believed even if it was only 135 (on the board),” Powell concluded.

Opener Shai Hope blasted an unbeaten 82 as West Indies came back roaring to crush the United States of America by nine wickets in the T20 World Cup Group 2 Super Eight match in Barbados. After bowling out the USA for a mere 128 in 19.5 overs, the West Indies batters went all guns blazing from the word go to knock off the target in 10.5 overs to make 130/1, recording a comfortable win. The win improved West Indies’ standing in the Group 2 points table. 

The Caribbean side, which had suffered an eight-wicket hammering from England on Wednesday, is now placed second with two points and a Net Run Rate of 1.814.

Johnson Charles fell for a 14-ball 15 with a couple of fours early on but the pair of Hope (82 not out) and Nicholas Pooran did the job for their side, smacking the USA bowlers all around the park here at the Kensington Oval.

Hope made a mincemeat of the USA bowling as the right-handed wicketkeeper-batter clattered eight sixes and four fours to make 82 not out from just 39 balls, with Pooran reaching 27 not out from 13 balls with three sixes and a four.

Hope remained at the forefront of WI’s chase as he forged a 67-run stand for the opening partnership with Charles and then added another 63 runs unbeaten for the second wicket with Pooran, which came off only 23 balls as the Caribbean side ruled the roost.

Earlier after the West Indies put USA in to bat first, Andre Russell (3.5-0-31-3) and Roston Chase (4-0-19-3) made life tough for the opposition batters.

After an early blow in the form of Steven Taylor (2) who was caught at point by chase of Russell, the pair of Andreis Gous and Nitish Kumar (20) forged a strong partnership to revive USA and take them ahead but they both fell after making their respective starts.

Nitish was trapped leg-before by West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie for 20 off 19 balls with two fours and Gous, who hit three fours and a six in his rapid 29 off 16 balls, was caught at deep midwicket by Hope off Alzarri Joseph in the eighth over and that was when USA’s decline began.

None of the following USA batters could trouble the West Indies as the tournament co-hosts kept chipping away with regular wickets, denying their opponents any momentum with the bat.

USA skipper Aaron Jones (11) was cleaned up by Chase who looked unplayable. Chase grabbed another wicket when he had the veteran Corey Anderson trapped leg-before for seven.

Harmeet Singh, who had provided fireworks with the bat for the USA against South Africa in the last match, fell for a first-ball duck when Chase had him caught by Charles to ensure West Indies remained on top of the proceedings. 

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