Abu Dhabi Knight Riders book playoff spot

In a do-or-die game, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders beat the Gulf Giants to secure their place in the ILT20 playoffs, eliminating their opponents. Phil Salt (72*) and Michael Pepper (83) opened with a dominant partnership, guiding ADKR to 179 for 1. They defended the total comfortably, restricting the Giants to 147 for 9. Moeen Ali scored 78 off 49 for the Giants in a losing effort. After starting the season with three wins, the Giants lost seven consecutive games and are now eliminated.

Pepper gave ADKR a brisk start after they were put in to bat in Dubai. At 23/0 after four overs, Pepper hit two sixes off Azmatullah Omarzai, with Salt adding a third in the same 20-run over. ADKR ended the PowerPlay at 56/0. Pepper reached his fifty in the ninth over and continued as the aggressor in a century stand. The 131-run partnership was broken in the 15th over when Pepper was caught at long-off off Aayan Khan. Salt, playing a supporting role, brought up his fifty with a six and struck two more in the final over to lift ADKR to 179 for 1.

In reply, the Giants had a disastrous start, losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck to Jason Holder. James Vince hit three boundaries but fell to Holder in his second over. Ajay Kumar removed Ben Kellaway, leaving the Giants three down by the end of the PowerPlay.

Moeen Ali launched his innings with a six off Liam Livingstone, followed by two boundaries and a six in the next over off Piyush Chawla. However, wickets fell at key moments, with Olly Stone dismissing Omarzai off his first ball. Moeen retaliated by smashing Stone for 19 runs in an over to reach his fifty. Kyle Mayers struggled, scoring six off 10 balls before edging Sunil Narine to slip. Narine then removed Sean Dickson for a duck. The decisive blow came when Moeen was caught at long-off off Andre Russell after a valiant effort. Russell also took the wickets of Aayan Khan and Ali Khan to wrap up the match and confirm ADKR's playoff berth.

Brief Scores: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 179/1 in 20 overs (Michael Pepper 83, Phil Salt 72*; Aayan Khan 1-34) beat Gulf Giants 147/9 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 78, James Vince 19; Andre Russell 3-13) by 32 runs.