David Willey and Jason Holder lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to 30-run victory against Sharjah Warriorz

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders secured their first victory at the DP World 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 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.

Mirroring the first innings, Sharjah Warriorz lost Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jason Roy to David Willey in the first three overs. Johnston Charles looked to counterattack but was caught at deep backward square leg, off Jason Holder. The Warriorz were falling behind the equation at 29/3 in six overs. UAE’s Rohan Mustafa struck four boundaries in his innings of 21 runs before he was claimed by Jason Holder in the eighth over.

Willey returned to the fray to pick up his third wicket, removing Karim Janat for nine runs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s laboured innings of seven runs in 19 balls also came to an end when he fell to Shahid Bhutta in the 13th over leaving the Warriorz at 70/6 in 12.2 overs.Harmeet Singh managed eight runs and Keemo Paul tried to fight back with a couple of boundaries until Jason Holder scalped both batters in the death overs.

With 54 runs required in the last two overs, skipper Tim Southee smashed two four and two sixes in the 19th over. The effort was purely consolatory as Mayers dismissed Southee in the final over and the Warriorz bundled up for 129 runs in 19.3 overs
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, Andre 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.

Following the defeat, Sharjah Warriorz skipper, Tim Southee said, “The pitch was a tricky one. It is still early stages of the tournament; we will dust ourselves off and look forward to the next ones. We would like our dot balls to be a lot lower than 70 balls so we will try to minimise that. We know this game can change quickly, so we get a day off tomorrow and we go again.”

Providing insight on his approach to bowling, Player of the Match, David Willey said, “I always aim to take wickets and try to swing the new ball to achieve that. The scoreboard generally dictates what we need, and I focus on reading the game well to deliver accordingly. I've built my career around swinging the ball and always strive to stay one step ahead of the batter.”

Brief Scores
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders bt 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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