Romario Shepherd had an excellent all-round performance to lead MI Emirates to a 28-run win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in International League T20 (ILT20) action at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Romario Shepherd took 2-14 from his two overs to help restrict the Knight Riders to 158-9 from their 20 overs in pursuit of 187 for victory.
The MI Emirates had the likes of Romario Shepherd and Nicholas Pooran to thank for the win as they played a crucial part in helping their side get to within two points of the table toppers. The MI Emirates produced a clinical display with the bat and the ball, handing the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders a 28-run defeat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report : The pitch looks like a beauty, got a nice covering of grass but it is very hard underneath. The wind factor could be an issue for the fielding,” reckons Ian Smith.
Toss : Abu Dhabi Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine won the toss and chose to field with no changes in the playing XI. MI Emirates skipper Nicholas Pooran batting first also made no changes in the playing XI.
Skipper Nicholas Pooran and Romario Shepherd’s late blitz helps MI Emirates to 186 for 6 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, the MI Emirates started off well, with openers Kusal Perera and Muhammad Waseem (38) put on a fine stand at the top. After the duo put on a 42-run stand, the Sri Lankan Perera was the first to depart for 23, just before the end of the powerplay. In walked Tom Banton, and along with Waseem ensured the MI Emirates kept the scoreboard ticking.
Halfway into the innings, Banton was dismissed for nine, and soon after Waseem followed suit for 38. Skipper Nicholas Pooran was joined by Kieron Pollard, but the veteran right-hander found it tough to get going, and was eventually knocked over by Ali Khan for five. At this point, the score read 102/4, with just over 6 overs to go. Dan Mousley was the next to fall for six, after which Romario Shepherd joined his captain for the final phase of the innings.
Pooran, who was striking it cleanly, was closing in on his half-century before Jason Holder had his number after a well-made 49. That put the focus on Romario Shepherd in the final few overs. The big-hitting right-hander Romario Shepherd then went through the gears and smashed three maximums along with four boundaries, to finish with an unbeaten 38 from 13 deliveries. The MI Emirates, who had slowed down for a few overs in the middle, eventually posted 186/6.
Romario Shepherd and other bowlers gives MI Emirates an 28 run win over ADKR
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders got off to a quick start, as openers Kyle Mayers and Andries Gous took the attack to the MI Emirates bowlers. Mayers, who smashed three sixes, scored 22 off 14 deliveries, before Dan Mousley ran him out with a fine a piece of fielding. That ended a 39-run stand in the fourth over, after which the MI Emirates took control.
Akeal Hossein dismissed Joe Clarke for three, after which Romario Shepherd accounted for Michael-Kyle Pepper for five and Alishan Sharafu for four. At the end of an action-packed Powerplay, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were 56/4.
Waqar Salamkheil cleaned up Laurie Evans for seven, and Zahoor Khan then had Gous caught out in the deep for 34, which put further pressure on the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. That brought Sunil Narine and Andre Russell to the middle, and the big-hitting batters put on a half-century stand, raising hopes of a comeback.
However, in the 18th over, Narine was caught at cover for 13, and then Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up David Willey in the 19th. Russell, who remained unbeaten on 37 from 23 deliveries could not take his side over the line as the MI Emirates came away with a comfortable win on the night.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Nicholas Pooran the winning MI Emirates skipper said : Very happy. Great performance with both bat and ball. Really crucial to have that power-hitting down the order. Gives us that flexibility. Fielding is something we stressed on, really proud of the guys. Nice to see these guys taking catches and diving around. From the bowling aspect, everyone did their job.
Sunil Narine the loosing ADKR skipper said : We were going good till the 18th over but we had to have a fielder in for the slow over-rate and Shepherd is a powerful player. It’s hard to keep up with the over-rate with just one spinner. You wouldn’t want those things (extras), it’s something we have to look at and fix next game. We’ve been losing a cluster of wickets, still played good cricket, we started off good. Need to get on top of the key moments.
Romario Shepherd Player of the Match for his all round performance said : Feels good, we knew how important this game was. Was relaxed because Pooran was there. Was just trying to get to the last over and seeing what I could get. Whenever you do good in one department it gives you confidence in the others. Still want to be a complete all-rounder that can bowl at any stage.
Romario Shepherd had an excellent all-round performance to lead MI Emirates to a 28-run win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in International League T20 (ILT20) action at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Romario Shepherd took 2-14 from his two overs to help restrict the Knight Riders to 158-9 from their 20 overs in pursuit of 187 for victory.
Andre Russell led the way for the Knight Riders with 37* off 23 balls but some slow batting from the top order left the big-hitting all-rounder with too much to do in the end. Opener Andries Gous was the next highest scorer with a run-a-ball 34. Alzarri Joseph also picked up two wickets while conceding 33 in his four overs.
Earlier, the Emirates made 186-6 after being put in to bat by Knight Riders captain Sunil Narine. Captain Nicholas Pooran led the way with a 26-ball 49 including five fours and two sixes but it was Shepherd who stole the show late in the innings with 38* off just 13 balls inclusive of four fours and three sixes to propel the Emirates to what turned out to be a winning total. Opener Muhammad Waseem also made 38 off 35 balls. Jason Holder took 2-38 from his four overs.
Quite a comprehensive win for the MI Emirates. They got the momentum flowing their way towards the back end of their innings when Romario Shepherd blasted 38 off just 13 and didn’t really look back since. Chasing 187, definitely a lot more than they should’ve been, ADKR lost 4 wickets inside the powerplay.
That meant that Gous and Evans were forced to slam the brakes to prevent further damage but they just couldn’t get going again as the asking rate climbed. Russell came in and struck a few around but he too was kept relatively quiet. The MIE bowlers conceded plenty of extras today but they were pretty good when it came to restricting runs. There were just too many runs required towards the end, too many even for Russell.
The MI Emirates jump up to second spot on the table after that win. Was a pretty complete performance from them today and it’ll give them a lot of confidence.