ABU DHABI: Opener Michael Pepper’s sensible half-century in the run chase powered Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in the 16th match of the ILT20 here on Wednesday.
Put into bat first, the Giants registered 161/6 despite Chris Lynn’s brisk half-century.
The Giants got off to an unwanted start to their innings as they lost their opener Jamie Smith (0) on the fifth delivery of the first over.
Skipper James Vince’s stay at the crease also remained brief as he walked back in the fourth over after scoring a run-a-ball 11.
With the Giants struggling at 21/2 in 3.2 overs, Jordan Cox joined Lynn in the middle and the pair soon launched a recovery.
They added 72 runs for the third wicket before Cox fell victim to Imad Wasim in the 13th over. He scored a scratchy 21 off 27 deliveries with the help of one boundary and a six.
Watch ILT20 Live on ARY ZAP
Meanwhile, Lynn stood his ground firm and carried his bat till the 17th over. He remained the top-scorer for the Giants with a 48-ball 67, which featured six boundaries and three sixes.
For the Knight Riders, Imad Wasim and Andre Russell bagged two wickets each while Ali Khan and David Willey struck out a batter apiece.
Chasing 162, the Knight Riders comfortably chased down the total for the loss of four wickets and 10 balls to spare, courtesy of Pepper’s anchoring fifty, followed by Russell’s late baton charge.
Openers Joe Clarke and Pepper provided a stable start to the pursuit, notching up 62 runs in the batting powerplay.
The opening stand was majorly dominated by Pepper while Clarke was finding it hard to go big before he finally perished in the seventh over after a cautious 14 off 16.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Pepper then put together an important 44-run partnership with Alishan Sharafu (11) before both perished in quick succession, causing the Knight Riders to slip to 110/3 in 11.4 overs.
Michael Pepper remained the top-scorer for the Knight Riders with 59 off 40 deliveries, laced up with seven boundaries and three sixes.
The Knight Riders went into defensive mode after Pepper’s departure as the fourth-wicket partnership between Sam Hain and Laurie Evans (6) yielded only 12 runs in three overs.
But Russell denied the Giants a comeback and sealed it for the Knight Riders with a quickfire cameo.
He smashed one boundary and three sixes amid his 13-ball 30.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman took two wickets for the Giants while Richard Gleeson and Zuhaib Zubair had a wicket apiece.
The six-wicket victory lifted Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to third in the ILT20 standings with six points in six matches while Gulf Giants remained fourth with four points in five matches.
READ: Sunrisers Eastern Cape reach SA20 knockouts
The post Pepper stars as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders sink Gulf Giants in ILT20 appeared first on ASports.tv.
from A Sports | Cricket Live Score, Rankings, Fixtures and Results https://ift.tt/9heSYBv