Narine, Pepper power Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to Eliminator win

Sunil Narine starred as the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders stayed in contention for the ILT20 title, sealing a comfortable 50-run win over the Dubai Capitals in the Eliminator.

After an impressive opening partnership between Michael Pepper and Phil Salt, the Knight Riders' bowlers ensured the Capitals did not recover from early blows. Narine, Jason Holder, and Liam Livingstone claimed three wickets each.

The Knight Riders will now face MI Emirates in Qualifier 2 on Friday for a place in the final. Desert Vipers have already advanced to Sunday's title clash by winning Qualifier 1.

Pepper hit his second consecutive half-century, finishing on 72 runs off 49 balls. His 122-run opening partnership with Phil Salt (43 off 34) led the charge, but the Capitals' bowlers wrestled back control, restricting the Knight Riders to 158/7.

Chasing 159, the Capitals endured a bruising Powerplay. Holder removed Toby Albert early, before Ajay Kumar dismissed Jordan Cox. Narine then took control, trapping Shayan Jahangir LBW and bowling Navin Bidaisee, leaving the Capitals at 43 for four.

Narine added the wicket of Gulbadin Naib, and Livingstone removed Rovman Powell. With just 16 runs coming in overs 7-10 and two more wickets falling, the Capitals slumped to 64 for six at the halfway mark, the chase slipping firmly out of reach.

Player of the match Sunil Narine said: "Winning games changes everything – it means a lot. We haven't made the playoffs in three years, and that's something we've been pushing hard for. It's emotional because we've played good cricket before without getting the results."

Dubai Capitals' Mohammad Nabi said: "At one point it looked like they might get close to 200, but we did well to pull things back with the ball. With the bat, though, we weren't good enough as a unit. There wasn't excessive turn, but they bowled very well in their areas. The plan was to rotate strike and avoid early wickets, but it didn't come off."

Brief Scores:
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 158/7 (Michael Pepper 72, Phil Salt 43; Mohammad Nabi 3/25) beat Dubai Capitals 108 in 16.2 overs (Mohammad Nabi 27; Sunil Narine 3/12, Jason Holder 3/18, Liam Livingstone 3/26) by 50 runs.