Dubai,
The Desert Vipers put up a stunning all-round display as they banked on Alex Hales’ half-century, three wickets from Nathan Sowter and three incredible catches from Luke Wood to hand the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders a 53-run defeat at the Dubai International Stadium in the ongoing DP World ILT20. With four victories in their first four matches, the Vipers lead the points table with eight points.
Chasing 194, the Knight Riders got off to a solid start courtesy of Joe Clarke, but a middle-innings collapse saw them slip to a massive defeat at the Dubai International Stadium.
The Vipers took to the field in their green kit, celebrating their second annual Sustainability Match, as the Dubai International Stadium marked the occasion by trialing new initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of cricket matches.
With a steep target ahead of them, the Knight Riders got off to a shaky start as Phil Salt fell to Mohammad Amir in the first over, but Clarke took matters into his own hands. The keeper-batsman struck three successive boundaries in Amir’s next over to get the Knight Riders going on a warm evening in Dubai. With Kyle Mayers slow to get off the blocks, Clarke was on a mission to score at least a boundary every over and he did just that to power his side to a comfortable 54/1 at the end of the powerplay.
The Knight Riders lost three wickets in seven balls as Nathan Sowter dismissed Charith Asalanka and a stroke of luck saw Clarke depart too. Sunil Narine, the new man in the crease, hit the ball straight back at Sowter and it ricocheted off his arm to crash onto the stumps. Clarke was outside his crease and had to make the long walk back to the pavilion. Narine fell soon after as Wood took his third catch of the evening and the Knight Riders found themselves reeling at 90/5 in 12 overs.
The Desert Vipers seized complete control of the game as Sowter came back to haunt the opposition with two wickets in the 13th over. He first accounted for Laurie Evans when Suri took a brilliant catch behind the stumps and the dangerous Andre Russell followed him soon as Wood put in a stunning effort on the boundary. He took the catch but sensed he may go over the ropes and threw the ball towards DA Payne, all while being mid-air. That meant the Knight Riders were down to 98/7 and the required run rate was well over 13 runs per over.
Earlier, the Vipers elected to bat first and Alex Hales anchored their innings with some brilliant strokeplay. Hales and Fakhar Zaman looked in good touch, but Jason Holder struck in his first delivery as he dismissed the Pakistani batsman in the fourth over. Hales, though, kept the scoreboard ticking and the Vipers reached 61-1 at the end of the powerplay after Shahid Bhutta conceded 22 runs in the sixth over.
Hales brought up his 50 in 29 balls, and that too in some style, as he smashed Vijayakanth Viyaskanth for back-to-back sixes. Dan Lawrence gave Hales perfect company as the two of them ensured the run rate did not drop and put up 69 runs for the second wicket. David Willey got the all-important breakthrough when Andre Russell took a sharp catch at short third man to send Hales back to the pavilion for a solid 58.
Sam Curran and Azam Khan took the baton from Lawrence as they clobbered a barrage of boundaries to inch closer to a massive target. Khan was in sublime form and played the perfect role of a pinch-hitter as Bhutta, once again, gave away 22 runs in the 18th over. Khan’s big-hitting cameo – 21 runs in nine deliveries – threatened to take the game away from the Knight Riders, but Holder put in an inspired performance to restrict the Vipers to 193/5.
Brief scores:
Desert Vipers beat Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 53 runs
Desert Vipers 193/5 in 20 overs (Alex Hales 58, Dan Lawrence 49, Sam Curran 35, Jason Holder 2/24)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 140 in 17.4 overs (Joe Clarke 55, Jason Holder 27, Nathan Sowter 3/44, Wanindu Hasaranga 2 for 22)
