(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Liam Livingstone lit up the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with a rampant 82 not out off 38 deliveries as the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders claimed a 39-run win over the Sharjah Warriorz in their opening fixture of the DP World ILT20 Season 4.

His explosive finish propelled the Knight Riders to 233/4, the second-highest total in DP World ILT20 history.

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Livingstone found support from Sherfane Rutherford (45 off 27) through the middle overs, while Alex Hales (32 off 19) and Alishan Sharafu (34 off 23) provided a brisk start at the top of the innings.

Livingstone reserved his fiercest hitting for the final over, where he hammered five sixes, including four in a row for a record of 33 runs against Dwayne Pretorius.

Adil Rashid was the lone bright spot for the Warriorz, returning figures of 2/31.

Chasing a formidable target, the Warriorz could not find the start they needed. They lost Johnson Charles (10 off 9), Tom Abell (6 off 6) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (14 off 18) inside the first seven overs with only 56 runs on board.

Tim David (60 off 24) scripted the fightback. David hit Piyush Chawla for three consecutive sixes in the ninth over to keep the home side in the fray. While the wickets of Sikandar Raza (8 off 11) and Dinesh Karthik (5 off 4) tumbled around him, David surged to a rapid fifty in 21 balls, striking six sixes on his way there.

Ajay Kumar put an end to the onslaught, dismissing David in the 13th over to bring the score to 120/6. Kumar also returned the best figures of the day in the process with 1/22 in his four overs.

With the required run-rate surging to almost 20 runs in the final five overs, the equation proved too steep. Pretorius (39 off 20) shepherded the tail with a gutsy knock comprising four fours and two sixes while Rashid (25 off 11) played a consolatory cameo with three sixes to take down Andre Russell for 25 runs in the penultimate over, however, the Warriorz finished considerably short at 194/9.

Brief scores

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders beat Sharjah Warriorz by 39 runs

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 233/4 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 82 not out, Sherfane Rutherford 45, Alishan Sharafu 34, Adil Rashid 2 for 31, Saurabh Netravalkar 1 for 33)

Sharjah Warriorz 194/9 in 20 overs (Tim David 60, Dwayne Pretorius 39, Adil Rashid 25, George Garton 2 for 24, Olly Stone 2 for 37, Andre Russell 2 for 48)

Player of the match: Liam Livingstone

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