Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were down and out in this tournament languishing at the bottom of the table. For most part, they looked like going down again. But Abu Dhabi Knight Riders held their nerves when it really mattered and played the big moments a bit better to snatch a 1-run win over table toppers Desert Vipers. Put into bat first, Knight Riders rode on Liam Livingstone’s fiery 76 off 48 balls and others around him to post a competitive 181/5 even as Lockie Ferguson picked up 3 wickets for Desert Vipers.
In the chase, the Vipers were cruising at one stage with Fakhar Zaman and Max Holden on song and Hasan Nawaz as well doing well. But they lost the plot after Fakhar’s dismissal and lost wickets at the wrong time and eventually couldn’t get over the line as Andre Russell delivered with the ball in the 19th over and thereafter, Ajay Kumar held his nerves as well. Abu Dhabi stays in bottom but now level on points with 3 other teams albeit playing a game more while Desert are well-placed at the top and had already qualified for playoffs. But this is a wake-up call for them.
Liam Livingstone’s fiery knock powers the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to 181/5.Â
Put into bat first, Philip Salt and Michael Pepper opened the batting for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders while Khuzaima Bin Tanvir had ball in hand for Desert Vipers. The Knights got off to the worst possible start as Salt was trapped LBW off the first ball of the match to Tanvir. Alex Hales came out to bat next. He joined Pepper in the middle. The Vipers got another wicket as Lockie Ferguson removed Pepper for 4 off 3 balls with one four to his name as the Knight Riders were 9/2 in 1.3 overs.
Liam Livingstone came out to bat to join Hales in the middle as the Knights were in desperate need of a partnership. Livingstone looked good from the get go while Hales looked good while he was there at the crease. The duo of Hales and Livingstone put on 34 for the third wicket inside powerplay before Hales’ innings was cut short on 25 off 18 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Ferguson had another wicket to his name. Alishan Sharafu came out to bat next to join Livingstone with the score at 43/3 in 5 overs.
The powerplay score for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders was 48/3 in 6 overs. The duo had to build a partnership and did so in fine fashion and at a fair clip. It was important to build a stand and then lay the platform for the big hitters to come later on. They played through the middle phase with both players complimenting each other well. Sharafu played the anchor role while Livingstone was the aggressor of the two. The duo added a valuable 68 runs off 59 balls to stabilise the innings before Sharafu’s innings was cut short on 39 off 35 balls with one four and three sixes to his name to Sam Curran.
Sherfane Rutherford came out to bat to join Livingstone in the middle and they came at the right time at 111/4 in 14.5 overs as the death overs were ahead of us now. Rutherford came off the blocks quickly while Livingstone who was a tad circumspect in the last partnership switched gears too and took the bowling head on. Runs flowed at the end overs as the duo added a quickfire 68 runs off 30 balls with Livingstone completing his half-century and going beyond that while Rutherford too scored quickly and at a fair clip.
The partnership blossomed and ended with one ball left when Liam Livingstone was dismissed for a magnificent 76 off 48 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes to his name as Lockie Ferguson knocked him over. With one ball left in the innings, Andre Russell came to the crease and got a brace to end the innings and remained unbeaten on 2 off 1 ball while Rutherford remained unbeaten on 24 off 14 balls with one four and 2 sixes to his name. 11 extras given by the fielding side.
Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers for Desert Vipers with figures of 3/34 in 4 overs. Khuzaima Bin Tanvir finished with 1/38 in 4 overs. Sam Curran finished with 1/36 in 4 overs. Qais Ahmad finished with 0/32 in 4 overs. Noor Ahmad finished with 0/37 in 4 overs. Desert Vipers conceded a lot in the death overs and now they needed 182 to keep their unbeaten run alive.
Andre Russell’s brilliant spell inspire Abu Dhabi Knight Riders snatch a 1-run win.
Chasing 182 for the win, Impact Player Fakhar Zaman and Max Holden came out to open for Desert Vipers while Jason Holder had ball in hand for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. The duo started on a commanding fashion as they were quick off the blocks as they built a solid stand for the first wicket. Zaman looked good and in control as Impact Player while Holden looked good and faced more balls in the partnership.
Desert Vipers won the powerplay as they scored 53 runs for the loss of 0 wickets and were on the front foot. The duo carried on their progress in the middle phase as well and kept the required rate under check throughout as the Knight Riders happlessly looked for wickets. The duo batted more than half the overs and set the base for what should have been an easy chase. The duo put on 97 for the first wicket inside 12 overs and then in the 12th over the opening partnership was finally broken as Holden was the first to fall for 52 off 43 balls with 6 fours to his name to Andre Russell.
Hasan Nawaz came out to the middle to join Fakhar in the middle and the Pakistan duo also scored quickly and kept the run rate under check. The duo added 17 runs more to the score before Impact Player Zaman departed for 44 off 32 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Andre Russell yet again. Sam Curran came out to bat next. Nawaz played his shots while Curran took his time as another 17 runs were added to the score before Hasan fell for 23 off 14 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Ajay Kumar.
Daniel Lawrence came out to join Curran in the middle as things started to slow down for the Vipers. The duo added 12 runs at almost run a ball before Sam Curran last match’s hero fell for 11 off 10 balls with one six to his name to Jason Holder. Shimron Hetmyer came out to bat with the score at 143/4 in 16.4 overs with work to do for the Vipers.
Hetmyer came and hit a boundary but his innings did not last long as he perished for 7 off 4 balls with one boundary to his name as 9 runs were added to the tally with Olly Stone the Impact Player picking up the wicket. The score read 152/5 in 17.3 overs when Khuzaima Bin Tanvir joined Daniel Lawrence in the middle. The equation at this stage was 30 runs off 15 balls.
Tanvir came and hit a boundary and maximum off Stone only to put the pressure back on the Knight Riders as the equation boiled down to 18 runs off 12 balls with Vipers back in the favourite category. Andre Russell came to bowl the penultimate over of the game and despite conceding a boundary to Tanvir through third man, he bowled three dot balls in a row to give only 5 runs off that over.
Ajay Kumar with 13 to defend started with a waist high full toss which was deemed as a no ball and the equation became 8 off 6 balls. The Free Hit yielded nothing. The equation was then 8 needed off 5 balls. It came down to 5 needed off 3 balls when Ajay had his redemption story as he dismissed Tanvir for 16 off 9 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name as the catch was taken at deep square leg. The game tilted again with 5 needed off 2 balls.
Tom Bruce came out to bat next and got a couple off the penultimate ball to bring the equation down to 3 off 1 ball. Bruce swung and missed to the keeper and they got a bye but that was not enough as they fell one run short of the target. Daniel Lawrence remained unbeaten on 11 off 7 balls alongside Tom Bruce on 2* off 2 balls as Desert Vipers ended with 180/6 in 20 overs. 14 extras given by the fielding side.
Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders with figures of 2/16 in 3 overs. Ajay Kumar chipped in with 2/47 in 4 overs and held his nerve in the air. Jason Holder the captain finished with 1/28 in 4 overs. Impact Player Olly Stone finished with 1/44 in 4 overs. Sunil Narine bowled 4 overs for 23 runs. Shadley van Schalkwyk bowled an over for 14 runs. So, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders won by 1 run. Liam Livingstone was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
The action moves to Dubai once again for a mid-table clash as Dubai Capitals lock horns with MI Emirates live at 8 PM IST onwards on December 17th, 2025. Both teams have 4 points from 5 games and are in 3rd and 4th in the table. Whoever wins will join Gulf Giants who have 6 points in 6 games. So, a lot to play for here between two evenly matched sides.
Let’s see how things pan out in Dubai later tonight between these teams.
Also Read: ILT20 2025: Sam Curran’s All-Round Show Helps Desert Vipers Become 1st Team To Qualify For Playoffs.