A brilliant performance with the ball has kept Abu Dhabi Knight Riders' campaign in the ILT20 alive! The defending champions Dubai Capitals have been knocked out as they fail to stand up on the big occasion. ADKR will face MI Emirates tomorrow in the Qualifier 2.
That's it from our coverage! Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Saptak Sanyal and scorer Raju Khariya. Stay tuned for more action from around the world.
Sunil Narine (Player of the Match):"I am trying to bowl a little more attacking. I know sometimes when you try to go attacking, you go for runs. But it is needed to try to get the wickets. Specially in the middle overs it helps.
I think the latter half in Dubai is favourable for the spinners as they get a lot of options. The atmosphere and the team vibe is good and when you win, you want to continue with that. I think it means a lot to reach the semi-final. We have not done it in the last three seasons. We struggled and in the fourth year we are here. We have been trying to do it and we got it. It is emotional a bit and reactions sometime happen.
They are a proud franchisee. They want to go up and high and we can do it by trying to qualify and win championships. I hope we can continue that. We have a game tomorrow and hope we get the momentum."
Player of the Match: Sunil Narine
Jason Holder (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Captain): "We played some good cricket. We lost some wickets in the middle but it was a competitive total on this wicket. Sometimes you make decisions that might not work out but you gotta back them. We have some players who can play dual roles. I am pleased with my form. I haven't had a huge deal to do. I am really happy with the way balls have been coming out. Looking forward to the Qualifier. It's always a big game. Hope the better team wins."
Mohammad Nabi (Dubai Capitals Captain):"I think it is quite tough to say where it went wrong. We pulled it back really well and restricted them from getting something close to 200. As a bowling group we did well but at times we threw the wickets away at crucial moments. As a batting group, we didn't do well.
Actually there was not much spin but it was sliding. They bowled really well in the right areas. I think we threw the wickets away. The idea was to rotate the strike. But they took the wickets earlier.
I think it's a quite good season. Really enjoyed the tournament as an all-rounder and a captain. It is hard luck for today's game but overall we played well."
Time for the post-match presentations.
11:28 PM IST, 9:58 PM Local Time: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders defeat the Dubai Capitals by 50 runs and step into the Qualifier 2 in the International League T20 here in Dubai! An inspired performance by the entire bowling attack led by Jason Holder ensures Dubai Capitals' journey comes to an end.
Knight Riders skipper Holder called it right at the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Phil Salt (43 off 34) and Michael-Kyle Pepper (72 off 49) added 122 runs for the first wicket but the rest of the order lost the plot. Skipper Holder with an unbeaten 22 took the total to 158/7.
No Dubai Capitals batter could get going and it seemed like Salt and Pepper batted on a completely different strip. Holder sent impact player Toby Albert back in the 2nd over itself. 3 more wickets fell in the powerplay Ajay Kumar struck once and Sunil Narine twice inside the powerplay.
The mystery spinner bowled 11 dots in his 3 overs and conceded only 12 runs for his 3 wickets. Liam Livingstone with his off breaks and leg breaks finished his full quota with 3/26 whereas Holder in his final over nicked Mohammad Nabi and Muhammad Jawadullah on consecutive balls to finish with 3/18 and take his side to a comfortable win.
Skipper Nabi hit 27 in 21 deliveries as the top scorer for DC but there was no support from the top and middle order as the Capitals failed to build partnerships. James Neesham (19), Rovman Powell (12), Albert (11) and Jordan Cox (10) were the only other batters barring Nabi to score into double digits as DC were held bowled out for 108 in 16.2 overs.
Dubai Capitals finished third in the points table with 10 points to their name. ADKR finished fourth with 8 points but outperformed the Capitals in the all important eliminator tonight and will take on the MI Emirates tomorrow in the second qualifier. The winner of that contest will battle Desert Vipers in the grand finale on Sunday.