Rovman Powell stole the show batting down the order as his amazing knock when the chips were down powered defending champions Dubai Capitals past 185 which was above par. Rovman Powell looked like a determined player out there and played with great authority under pressure. The Capitals batting first lost early wickets especially the first 3 of them before Powell and Jordan Cox rescued them to put up runs on the board.
While defending the score, Waqar Salamkheil stole the show as he picked up 4 wickets and the others like Mohammad Nabi, David Willey and Mustafizur Rahman bowled around him as they sent the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders packing skittling them out for 103 runs in 15.3 overs to win the contest by 83 runs to open their account in this tournament.
Rovman Powell’s 96* powers Dubai Capitals to 186/4.Â
Put into bat first, Toby Albert and Sediqullah Atal came out to open the batting for Dubai Capitals while Jason Holder had ball in hand for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. The Capitals got off to a shaky start as they lost an early wicket inside 2 overs. Toby Albert was the first to fall for 8 off 8 balls with one boundary to his name as Ajay Kumar got his man. The Knight Riders were sloppy in the field and dropped multiple catches to say the least. Shayan Jahangir came out to bat next to join Atal.
The duo added 12 more runs to the score before Atal fell for 8 off 11 balls to Jason Holder. Jordan Cox the keeper batter came out to bat next. Jahangir and Cox tried to build a solid stand and upped the ante a little bit. They played through the powerplay overs as the Capitals reached 43/2 in 6 overs. But upon the completion of powerplay, Jahangir fell for 14 off 13 balls with one four and one six to his name to leave the Capitals at 43/3 in 6.1 overs and in a spot of bother.
Rovman Powell walked out to bat next to join Cox. What followed next was something to behold as Powell showed what he is made of. It was the Rovman Powell show as he dazzled under the lights at the ring of fire in Dubai. Cox complimented him really well at the other end and went at a fair clip but Powell was breathing fire and tore apart the Knight Riders bowling from the onset. They played through the middle overs really well and brought on the carnage in the death overs.
Powell was the aggressor of the two while Cox was happy to play the anchor’s role albeit at a fair clip as suddenly the Capitals looked at ease from a precarious position. No bowler was spared whatsoever as Powell was in the mood today to destroy the bowling. Cox went about his business and completed his fifty but Powell was racing away and maybe had he batted longer or come earlier he would have got his hundred. But he was like a rampaging river, unstoppable.
Cox eventually fell for 52 off 36 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name as Holder picked him up but it was too little too late. Dasun Shanaka came out to bat and faced just one ball in the innings. But the headline and everything was about Powell as he took the bowling to the cleaners especially Andre Russell in the end overs as the score went from 162/4 in 18.5 overs to 186/4 in 20 overs as 24 runs came in the final over of the innings. Powell remained unbeaten on 96 off 52 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes to his name. 8 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a mixed bag performance from the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers finishing with 2/30 in 4 overs. Ajay Kumar finished with 1/28 in 4 overs. Piyush Chawla finished with 1/23 in 3 overs. Olly Stone went for 26 runs in 3 overs. Sunil Narine went for 38 runs in 4 overs. Andre Russell went for a whopping 37 runs in 2 overs. This meant Abu Dhabi Knight Riders needed 187 runs to win off 20 overs.
Waqar Salamkheil’s 4-wicket haul skittles Abu Dhabi Knight Riders out for 103 in 15.3 overs.Â
Chasing a daunting 187 for the win, Impact Player Philip Salt opened the batting with Alex Hales for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders while David Willey had ball in hand for Dubai Capitals. The Capitals got off to a perfect start as Willey removed Hales for a golden duck by cleaning him up. Alishan Sharafu came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary. Willey got two wickets in the over as he removed Sharafu now for 4 off 4 balls with a boundary to his name to leave Knight Riders at 5/2 in one over.
Unmukt Chand came out to bat next. Chand joined Salt in the middle as 5 runs were added to the score before Chand fell for a golden duck to Mustafizur Rahman. The score was 10/3 inside 2 overs when Liam Livingstone joined Salt in the middle. The duo tried to rebuild the innings with Salt showing his impact to the team by playing aggressively while Livingstone played second fiddle out there. The duo added 33 runs for the 4th wicket before Impact Player Salt fell for 27 off 21 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as the Fizz had his second wicket. Sherfane Rutherford came out to bat next.
At the end of the powerplay, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were 44/4. Livingstone and Rutherford tried to build some sort of partnership with the required rate climbing to incredible levels. Rutherford struggled out there as he went less than run a ball while Livingstone as a tad better with his strike rate. The duo of Livingstone added 17 runs to the score before Livingstone fell for 16 off 15 balls with one six to his name to Mohammad Nabi to leave the Knights at 60/5 in 8.4 overs.
Andre Russell came out to bat next. He showed his intent as he had to by striking a couple of maximums out of the ground. Rutherford and Russell added 13 more to the tally with Russell scoring 12 of them before Russell fell for 12 off 6 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Waqar Salamkheil as he got his first scalp to leave the Knight Riders at 73/6 in 9.5 overs. Captain Jason Holder came out to bat next.
He too did not last long as after 4 runs were added to the score, Holder was cleaned up by Salamkheil for a duck as the score now read 77/7. Sunil Narine came to the crease next. Narine scored 3 off 5 balls before being cleaned up by Nabi as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were 82/8 in 13 overs. Olly Stone joined Rutherford in the middle.
It was a struggle for Rutherford with his innings and was haplessly watching his partners depart from the other end. Stone and Rutherford added 6 more to the tally before Rutherford fell for 19 off 25 balls with one four to his name as Salamkheil picked up another wicket, his 3rd of the night. Ajay Kumar came out to bat with the score at 88/9 in 13.4 overs and the end was near as Abu Dhabi faced embarrassment.
Kumar and Stone played some good shots to try and get the Capitals over a hundred as this was a poor batting display to say the least. Stone hit a boundary while Ajay hit two boundaries to enjoy himself out there. Eventually Stone was the last man out for 6 off 6 balls with one four to his name as Salamkheil picked up his 4th wicket to wrap things up. Ajay Kumar remained unbeaten on 8 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were done and dusted in 15,3 overs for 103. 8 extras given by the fielding side.
Waqar Salamkheil was the pick of the bowlers for Dubai Capitals with figures of 4/29 in 3.3 overs. Impact Player Mohammad Nabi finished with 2/12 in 4 overs. David Willey finished with 2/13 in 3 overs. Mustafizur Rahman finished with 2/22 in 3 overs. Haider Ali bowled an over for 11 runs while captain Dasun Shanaka bowled an over for 11 runs. So, Dubai Capitals win by 83 runs to notch up their first win this season. Rovman Powell was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
Next-up in ILT20 is a clash between two unbeaten sides as Desert Vipers lock horns against Gulf Giants in Dubai on December 8th 2025, at 8 PM IST onwards. This is the only game on Monday at ILT20 2025. We have to wait and see which team comes out on top in this clash and continued their unbeaten run.
Also Read:Â ILT20 2025: Desert Vipers Make It 2 Wins In 2 Games After Thrilling Win