The Knight Riders, led by their bowlers David Willey and Jason Holder, defended a modest target of 160 to register their first win of the season. While the Knight Riders showed resilience in both innings, the Warriorz struggled to build partnerships, ultimately falling short with 129 runs. 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.
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.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report: “Three games here and three different pitches. Was very windy the other day and players were struggling to take catches. There is a good balance between bat and ball because of the grass covering here, bowlers are having a good time with the new ball. It’s not going to be very different to the other games that have happened here” say Ian Smith and Waqar Younis.
Toss : Sharjah Warriorz skipper Tim Southee won the toss and chose to bowl with no changes in the playing XI. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine also made no changes from the playing XI .
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders’ balanced batting performance powers them to 159 for 5 in 20 overs
After being put into bat by the Warriorz, the Knight Riders managed to post a competitive 159/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Kyle Mayers provided a fiery start, smashing 21 off 9 balls before falling to Adam Milne. 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.

Joe Clarke (32 off 27) and Alishan Sharafu (25 off 22) contributed steady runs in the middle overs, ensuring the scoreboard ticked over despite regular wickets. Laurie Evans anchored the innings with an unbeaten 39 off 31, supported by Andre Russell’s explosive cameo of 24 off 12 balls. Their partnership added crucial runs in the death 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, 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.
Adil Rashid was the standout bowler for the Warriorz, taking 2 wickets for just 14 runs in his 4 overs. Harmeet Singh also impressed with figures of 1/22. However, the remaining bowlers, including Milne (2/37), failed to contain the Knight Riders during the closing stages, allowing them to finish with a flourish.
David Willey and Jason Holder lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to first win in ILT20 2025 by 30 runs
Chasing 160, the Warriorz struggled from the outset, losing Tom Kohler-Cadmore in the first over and Jason Roy shortly after. David Willey dismantled the top order with a superb spell, claiming 3/19 in his 4 overs, including key wickets of Kohler-Cadmore and Roy. Holder proved to be equally effective, taking 4/23 and troubling the middle order with his variations.
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.

David Willey returned to the fray to pick up his third wicket, removing Karim Janat for nine runs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s labored 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
While Rohan Mustafa (20 off 19) and Keemo Paul (21 off 16) tried to stabilize the innings, they received little support from other batters. Tim Southee’s valiant 24 off 11 was too little, too late. Sunil Narine bowled economically, conceding only 16 runs in his 4 overs, further stifling the Warriorz chase.
Mayers sealed the victory by cleaning up the tail, finishing with figures of 2/16. The Warriorz were eventually bowled out for 129 in 19.3 overs, handing the Knight Riders a well-deserved victory. The Knight Riders claimed two valuable points, while the Warriorz were left to reassess their strategies moving forward in the tournament.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Tim Southee the loosing Sharjah Warriorz skipper said : It was a tricky one (the pitch). Still early stages of the tournament, we will dust ourselves off and look forward to the next ones. We would like to be a lot lower than 70 (talking about the dot balls) and minimize that. We know this game can change pretty quickly. We got a day off tomorrow and we go again.
Sunil Narine the winning Abu Dhabi Knight Riders skipper said : Generally here, batting gets easier in the second innings. We did a good job in the powerplay with the bat to not lose too many wickets. If you have set guys for the last 3-4 overs, you would always have a good total.
David Willey Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said : Always trying to take wickets. Try to swing the new ball and take wickets (talking about intent). Generally scoreboard dictates what we need, I read the game pretty well and try and deliver what is required. I made a career out of swinging the ball and always want to stay a step ahead of the batter.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders secured their first victory at the 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 with 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.
It was a real struggle for the Sharjah Warriors. Never had any sort of momentum through their batting innings. Due to early swing and variable bounce, the batters found it tough to get going and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. David Willey got rid of TKC and Jason Roy inside 3 overs and Holder claimed the wicket of Charles in the final over of the powerplay.
Mustafa slogged his way to a 19-ball 20, but eventually dragged one off Holder in the 8th over. Rajapaksa, too, had a nightmare as he kept missing the balls bowled around his pads. He was eventually caught in the deep off the bowling of Shahid Bhutta. Cameos from Keemo Paul and skipper Southee only helped reduce the defeat margin. At no stage did the Warriors appeared to be chasing this target.