UAE batter Alishan Sharafu‘s half-century and Kyle Mayers’ three-fer with the new ball helped Abu Dhabi Knight Riders register a convincing 42-run win over MI Emirates at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on January 25. Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten half-century went in vain as he found no support from the other end.
Alishan Sharafu‘s match-winning knock of 55 runs earned him the Player of the Match award. Alishan Sharafu, Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers played defining roles for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, as they defeated the MI Emirates by 42 runs, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, on Friday evening, in Season 3 of DP World ILT20. The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders moved to third place on the points table with the win, and Sharafu came away with the Player of the match award.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : “Nice wind blowing across the stadium. There is a nice layer of grass and the seamers have taken 37 wickets so far, the ball generally darts around quite a bit and the average score is around 175. All in all, a great pitch to play cricket on,” reckons Rohan Gavaskar.
Toss : MI Emirates skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and chose to bowl with no changes in the playing XI. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine batting first made two changes bringing in Roston Chase and Charith Asalanka in the playing XI.
Alishan Sharafu’s half century and Jason Holder’s late cameo powers ADKR to 182 for 7 in 20 overs
MI Emirates skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and opted to bowl first. Fazalhaq Farooqi started well but Romario Shepherd leaked boundaries against Mayers. Alzarri Joseph in the fourth over struck twice to dismiss Mayers and Michael Pepper. Andries Gous hit the first six of the innings. Knight Riders were 39/2 after powerplay overs. In the eighth over, Waqar Salamkheil got the wicket of Gous. The USA batter contributed with an 18-ball 27. At the halfway stage, Knight Riders were 71/3.
Batting first, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders had a slow start, and midway through the powerplay, they lost Kyle Mayers for 11 and Michael-Kyle Pepper for a duck, off consecutive deliveries to Alzarri Joseph. Andries Gous and Charith Asalanka then absorbed the pressure, and steadied the ship with a couple of very handy contributions.

Charith Asalanka scored at just over run-a-ball. In the 12th over, he lost his wicket to Zahoor Khan. The Sri Lankan captain scored 32 runs from 28 balls. In the same over, Roston Chase got off the mark with a six. Chase and Alishan Sharafu pushed the scoring rate. In the 16th over, Alishan Sharafu’s catch was dropped. Alishan Sharafu made use of it and continued to hit big.
The duo put on 41 runs together before Gous was caught behind for 27. That brought Alishan Sharafu to the middle, who along with Asalanka, started to set up the platform for a big finish. Asalanka, who hit three boundaries and a six, scored 32 and was dismissed by Zahoor Khan in the 12th over. From then on in, Alishan Sharafu and Roston Chase took charge, with the Emirati cricketer starting to go through the gears. Sharafu played some exquisite shots, whilst Chase kept the momentum going as well.

In the 18th over, Alishan Sharafu reached his fifty from 33 balls. Chase walked off the field before penultimate over retired hurt. Andre Russell hit a first-ball six and then got out to Joseph. Jason Holder’s seven-ball 22 helped Knight Riders post 182/7. Alishan Sharafu got out to Farooqi in the last over after scoring 55 runs from 38 balls including seven fours and a six.
They put on a 72-run partnership from 39 deliveries, after which Chase retired for 20, bringing in the dangerous Andre Russell for the final two overs. Russell started off with a big six but was castled on the next delivery. At the other end though, Sharafu brought up his half-century and had Jason Holder for company. Sharafu continued his attack and finished with 55 to his name, whilst Holder added a quick 22 not out from seven deliveries, to help the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders reach 182/7 in their 20 overs.
Kieron Pollard with 69* wages a lone battle as Kyle Mayer’s 3-fer sets 42 runs win for ADKR
The MI Emirates didn’t get the start they would have wanted as Kyle Mayers picked three quick wickets including those of Kusal Perera for nine and Nicholas Pooran for one. From the other end, David Willey dismissed Tom Banton for one, and the MI Emirates were in trouble at 36/4 in the sixth over.
Muhammad Waseem, who was the fourth to depart, had scored 19, and smashed three sixes during his stay. Dan Mousley and Kieron Pollard now had their task cut out, and the duo dropped anchor to rebuild. The fifth wicket partnership gave the MI Emirates 33 more before Mousley gloved it to the keeper, and had to walk back for 17. Pollard by now had settled in well, and had Romario Shepherd for company.

In the run chase, Muhammad Waseem got off the mark with a six. Kusal Perera hit Mayers for two consecutive fours and then got caught at mid-on. David Willey in his second over got Tom Banton caught at first slip. Pooran failed to make a mark and got out to Mayers after scoring just one run from seven balls.
In the sixth over, Waseem hit Mayers for two consecutive sixes before getting caught at short fine leg. He scored 19 runs from 10 balls. MI Emirates were 39/4 after powerplay overs. Dan Mousley struggled to find boundaries in middle overs. At the halfway stage, MI Emirates were 65/4.

Under pressure, Pollard started to up the ante and teed off in the 17th over, when he smashed a six and three boundaries, raising hopes of a comeback. Shepherd though could not hang in there and became Holder’s second wicket of the evening, which further piled on the pressure on the MI Emirates.
Pollard meanwhile had completed his half-century. Pollard continued to look for the big hits in the final couple of overs, but it wasn’t to be for the MI Emirates, who came off second best. Pollard finished unbeaten on 69, having hit four boundaries and as many sixes.
Mousley gave in to the pressure of required run rate mounting up. He lost his wicket to Holder after scoring 17 runs from 26 balls. In the last five overs, they needed 90 runs. In the 17th over, Pollard hit a six and three fours. He reached his fifty from 38 balls. But the required rate was out of MI’s grasp. In the penultimate over, Romario Shepherd lost his wicket to Holder. Pollard remained unbeaten for 69 off 49 deliveries as MI managed to post 140/6 and lost the match by 42 runs.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Sunil Narine the winning ADKR skipper said : It was winning the key moments. We had a tough start but we won the middle overs. The wicket quickens up later, and we started superbly in the powerplay. Once you get 4 players in the powerplay, you generally win the game. We want to get Russell as much time off as possible. We took our catches today, and we had a great powerplay. Willey has been fantastic throughout the season for us.
Nicholas Pooran the losing MIE skipper said : Losing four wickets in the powerplay was tough. They had a good left-right combination going, they had a good partnership that pushed the game forward. The powerplay ruined it for us, it would have got much easier after but we lost too many wickets. Losing by 40 odd runs is bad for our NRR as well.
Alishan Sharafu Player of the Match for his half century said : It was a pretty special one, didn’t get many all the other games so wanted to cash in today. The wicket was a bit on the slower side, but once you bat a few balls you try to take it from there. I think retiring out is a great option for teams having firepower lower down the order, all in it for that plan. A much awaited win, it is a pretty special one.
A real dud of a game out here while was settled within the powerplay itself. MI Emirates made no real efforts to chase the target despite having Pollard and Shepherd in the middle for the bulk of the innings, as we were just going through the motions. ADKR started brilliantly with their new ball bowlers getting some sharp swing and seam movement.
David Willey bowled four overs on the trot, and Mayers bowled three as the duo picked four wickets amongst themselves. The middle overs saw Pollard and Shepherd just nudging the ball around, with the odd boundary here and there. Pollard got a few big shots later on against Ibrar Ahmed, but it was too little, too late by then. A resounding victory for ADKR, MI Emirates are still placed at the second spot on the points table despite the 42-run loss to Abu Dhabi Knight Riders but their NRR took a massive hit.