MI Emirates vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Match Report
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders secured a one sided victory over MI Emirates on January 24, 2025, winning by 42 runs in the 17th match of the International League T20 tournament. The match commenced at 06:30 PM local time, involving two powerful opponents.
Batting first, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders scored 182 for 7 in their 20 overs. Based on a solid innings-opening contribution by Kyle Mayers which launched the innings-great guns with an 11-run score off 20 balls, Mayers was dismissed in the 4th over by Alzarri Joseph. The wicketkeeper Andries Gous made the meekest of 27 runs off hits of 32 balls and was caught by Nicholas Pooran bowled by Waqar Salamkheil. Michael Pepper went for 0 courtesy of Alzarri Joseph.
At a point in time, when the team was reeling at 58 for 3, Sri Lankan Wanindu Hasaranga provided some resistance with 32 runs before he was clean bowled by Muhammad Waseem. Roston Chase was caught for a meek 20 off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph by Kieron Pollard. Andre Russell and Alishan Sharafu furiously attempt to settle the innings after the loss of Russell for the score of 6. Russell was dismissed by Joseph, and Sharafu carried on for 55 runs before he also was caught by Fazalhaq Farooqi. The Knight Riders found themselves at 158/6 by the end of the 19th over.
In the closing stages of the innings, Jason was not out on 22; Sunil Narine got to 11 leading to a combined total of 182 for 7. Alzarri Joseph was the pick of the bowlers for MI Emirates with 3 wickets for 32 runs in his 4 overs, while his companions Fazalhaq Farooqi and Waqar Salamkheil took a single wicket each.
Also Read: Sydney Thunder Secured Their Place In The BBL Final Beside Hobart Hurricanes
Chasing the target of 183 runs, MI Emirates started poorly in their innings. Their batting lineup was in big trouble early on, with Kusal Perera out for 9 runs in the 2nd over, caught by Willey off the bowling of Kyle Mayers. Waseem scored just 1 run before he fell short of the crease, leaving MI Emirates on 15/2. Tom Banton managed only 1 run before trapped by Jason Holder. Nicholas Pooran, usually quite the reliable influence, only managed to stay at the crease for 17 runs, with Willey taking the catch off Mayers’ bowling. With this, MI Emirates had sunk down to 36 for 4 by the 6th over.
With the middle order struggling, Dan Mousley managed to score just 17 runs before being dismissed for 69 runs. The final nail in MI Emirates’ batting collapse came, however, when Romario Shepherd managed only 12 runs, the caught-holder-enabled slip against Roston Chase, leaving MI Emirates down to 127 for 6.
In reply, Kieron Pollard fought valiantly with an unbeaten 69 runs off 44 balls, but MI Emirates just could not overcome this hurdle, as they failed to reach the required score with adequate wickets left. Hosein also struck a useful 37 not out, but MI Emirates closed on 140 for 6 after 20 overs, a gap of 42 from target. Holder starred for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders with 3 wickets from 28 runs in 4 overs; Mayers also took 3 with 25.
This total win by the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders came out of a good all-around performance, with MI Emirates lamenting their batting inconsistency. A balanced attack and cool fielding did the trick for the Knight Riders and kept the hopes of the tournament alive.
