NEW DELHI: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders celebrated their maiden victory in ILT20 Season 3, defeating Sharjah Warriorz by 30 runs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Jason Holder’s brilliant spell of 4/23 and David Willey’s 3/19 helped defend the target of 159/5 with ease.
Batting first, the Knight Riders were propelled to 159/5, thanks to a late unbeaten 50-run partnership between Andre Russell and Laurie Evans in the death overs. Kyle Mayers provided an early spark with a quickfire 21, while Evans anchored the innings with an unbeaten 39. Russell added fireworks at the end with a 12-ball 24. In reply, the Warriorz struggled to build partnerships and were hindered by numerous dot balls.
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The Warriorz innings mirrored the first, as David Willey dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jason Roy within the first three overs. Johnston Charles attempted a counterattack but fell to Jason Holder, leaving the Warriorz at 29/3 in the powerplay. Rohan Mustafa added 21 runs with four boundaries before becoming Holder’s second victim in the eighth over.
Willey returned to claim his third wicket, removing Karim Janat for nine. Bhanuka Rajapaksa endured a frustrating knock of 7 off 19 balls before falling to Shahid Bhutta in the 13th over, reducing the Warriorz to 70/6. Harmeet Singh contributed eight runs, and Keemo Paul showed resilience with a couple of boundaries before both fell to Jason Holder during the death overs.
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Requiring 54 off the final two overs, skipper Tim Southee struck two fours and two sixes in the 19th over to keep the chase alive. However, Mayers dismissed him in the final over, bundling out the Warriorz for 129 in 19.3 overs.
Earlier, Adam Milne rattled the Knight Riders’ top order, bowling Phil Salt and Kyle Mayers in his fiery opening spell, leaving them at 26/2 in three overs. Before his dismissal, Mayers smashed two fours and two sixes in a nine-ball blitz, scoring 21. The Knight Riders reached 49/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Joe Clarke, coming in at number three, weathered the early pressure with a 27-ball 32. However, Michael Pepper fell to Adil Rashid for seven, caught by Rohan Mustafa at deep backward square leg. Rashid also dismissed Alishan Sharafu for a crucial 13 after partnerships of 24 and 23 with Clarke and Evans, respectively, leaving the Knight Riders at 109/5 in 15.3 overs.
Laurie Evans anchored the innings with 39 off 31 balls, while Andre Russell provided the finishing touch, smashing three sixes in a 12-ball cameo worth 24 runs. Their unbeaten 50-run partnership off 27 balls carried the Knight Riders to 159/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
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Reflecting on the loss, Sharjah Warriorz captain Tim Southee said, “The pitch was a tricky one. It is still early stages of the tournament; we will dust ourselves off and look forward to the next ones. We would like our dot balls to be a lot lower than 70 balls so we will try to minimise that. We know this game can change quickly, so we get a day off tomorrow and we go again.”
Player of the Match David Willey explained his bowling strategy, saying, “I always aim to take wickets and try to swing the new ball to achieve that. The scoreboard generally dictates what we need, and I focus on reading the game well to deliver accordingly. I've built my career around swinging the ball and always strive to stay one step ahead of the batter.”
