Abu Dhabi Knight Riders qualify to top four after defeating Gulf Giants

The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have pushed aside the Gulf Giants by 32 runs to qualify for the top four of the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

In what was the last league game of the season, the Knight Riders sealed a crucial win and will now face Dubai Capitals in the Eliminator on 1 January. Meanwhile, the Desert Vipers take on MI Emirates on 30 December in Qualifier 1 for a place in the final. 

A mammoth 131-run partnership between Michael Pepper (83 off 51) and Phil Salt (72* off 56 balls) paved the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders’ path to the playoffs with a 32-run victory over the Gulf Giants. Both openers notched impressive half-centuries to catapult the Knight Riders to a formidable total of 179/1. In the run chase, a swashbuckling half-century from Moeen Ali gave the Knight Riders a scare, but the lack of partners and Sunil Narine and Andre Russell’s late double blow ensured the target was out of reach. 

Defending 180 for the win, Jason Holder set the tone early, removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck in the opening over before returning to dismiss James Vince (19 off 10). Ajay Kumar joined the wicket-takers with the scalp of Ben Kellaway (5 off 8) in the fifth over, while Narine allowed just five runs across his first two overs. At the end of the powerplay, the Knight Riders reduced the Giants to 32/3. 

Moeen Ali (79 off 49) held the Giants’ innings together with a counter-attacking effort. After a long drought, the Englishman broke the shackles with a six off Liam Livingstone in the eighth over, following it up with a pair of boundaries and a six off Piyush Chawla in the ninth over. 

He reached his half-century in 31 balls, stitching a brief but valuable partnership of 45 runs in 31 balls, with Kyle Mayers (6 off 10) in the process. However, Sunil Narine struck twice in the 15th over, removing Mayers and then Sean Dickson for a duck, tightening Knight Riders’ grip on the chase.  

Despite the setbacks at the other end, Moeen continued to fight. But the game decisively swung in the 18th over. Andre Russell produced the knockout blow, removing Moeen and then Aayan Khan (0 off 1) in consecutive balls, as the death overs were expertly closed out. The Knight Riders tightened the screws at the finish, restricting the Giants to 147/9 and sealing the victory in emphatic fashion. 

Batting first, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders powerplay set the tone for the must-win fixture with openers Salt and Pepper racing to a 56-run stand during the phase. Azmatullah Omarzai was taken down for 20 runs in the fifth over that saw three sixes – two of which were launched by Pepper. 
Pepper then brought up his half-century in only 31 balls, while Salt supported him with a more conservative strike-rate. The runs continued to flow as the pair brought up a 100-run stand in 67 balls – only the second century stand of the season. 

Aayan Khan finally broke the partnership, when Pepper holed out to Mark Adair in the 15th over. Pepper’s onslaught comprised six boundaries and four sixes. 

In the 17th over, Salt launched a maximum over cow-corner to notch a 44-ball fifty. The Knight Riders then plundered 18 runs in the final over with Salt thumping two successive sixes to build a 48-run stand with Liam Livingstone (18* off 13) and finish the innings at 179/1. 

Player of the match Michael Pepper said, “It was about being patient and waiting for the right match-ups. You look at which bowlers you feel you can take on and then try to maximise your time on strike. When the spinners came into the attack, Salt allowed me to face most of the deliveries and I was happy to take responsibility. As a group, we just need to keep putting in the hard work.” 

Gulf Giants Captain James Vince said, “It was a surface where they scored 20 to 30 runs above par. We weren’t able to strike early with the ball, and full credit to the way Pepper and Salt went about their innings. Our bowling wasn’t quite at the level we needed, and the batting conditions were challenging. Moeen played a really good knock for us, but six losses in a row is tough to take.”