(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders secured their first victory at the ILT20 Season 3, defeating Sharjah Warriorz by 30 runs at the Zayed cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Jason Holder picked up four wickets for just 23 runs and David Willey returned with figures of three wickets for 19 runs to defend their total of 159/5 with ease.
Batting first, an unbroken partnership of 50 runs in the death overs between Andre Russell and Laurie Evans enabled the Knight Riders to post 159/5 after Kyle Mayers set the tone early with a rapid 21 runs.
Evans remained unbeaten on 39 runs while Russell's 12-ball knock of 24 provided the late innings fireworks. In response, the Sharjah Warriorz innings was plagued by the lack of partnerships and an abundance of dot balls.
Earlier in the evening, Adam Milne breathed fire in his opening spell rattling the stumps of Phil Salt and Kyle Mayers to bring the Knight Riders to 26/2 within three overs. Prior to his dismissal Mayers was on a rampage, smashing two fours and two sixes to score 21 runs in nine balls. At the end of the fielding restrictions the scoreline read 49/2.
Coming in at number three, Joe Clarke did well to negotiate the challenging early overs, putting on 32 runs in 27 balls. Meanwhile, Michael Pepper was undone by Adil Rashid for seven runs, holing out to UAE's Rohan Mustafa at deep backward square leg.
Harmeet Singh found a key breakthrough, pinging Joe Clarke on the pads in the 12th over. Alishan Sharafu made a vital contribution partnering with Clarke and Laurie Evans for 24 and 23 runs respectively before he was sent back by Adil Rashid with the score at 109/5 in 15.3 overs.
While Laurie Evans dug deep to finish with 39 runs in 31 balls on a night where he could not consistently find the middle of the bat, Russell did the damage in the death overs, dispatching three sixes for an innings of 24 runs in 12 balls. The partnership was worth 50 runs in 27 balls as the innings closed at 159/5 in 20 overs.
Brief Scores
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders beat Sharjah Warriorz by 30 runs
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 159/5 in 20 overs (Laurie Evans 39 not out, Joe Clarke 32, Alishan Sharafu 25, Andre Russell 24 runs not out, Adam Milne 2 for 37, Adil Rashid 2 for 14, Harmeet Singh 1 for 22)
Sharjah Warriorz 129/10 in 19.3 overs (Tim Southee 24, Keemo Paul 21, Rohan Mustafa 20, Jason Holder 4 for 23, David Willey 3 for 19, Kyle Mayer 2 for 16)
Player of the Match: David Willey
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