‌ILT20 | Russell and Willey’s all-round brilliance drub Capitals as Knight Riders seal back-to-back wins

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Despite being on the back foot, Andre Russell and David Willey’s blazing knocks helped the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders get to an above-par total in Abu Dhabi. The all-rounders were pivotal with the ball and made inroads in the opposition's batting despite grit from David Warner and Jason Holder.

Being forced to bat first after losing the toss, Joe Clarke Michael Pepper gave a brisk start of 40 runs before the latter was outdone by Akif Raja in the fifth over. Clarke followed him back to the pavilion in the next over, leaving the Knight Riders at 55/2 at the end of the powerplay. Scott Kuggleijn exerted more pressure on the batting side after scalping the wickets of Alishan Shafu and Sagar Kalyan in the eighth over. However, Sam Hain and Laurie Evans tried to resist the disciplined bowling attack of the Capitals but fell prey halfway through the innings and paved the way for yet another mini-collapse. With the Abu Dhabi-based franchise reeling at 111/7, Andre Russell stepped up to the fore and countered the opposition bowlers. He smacked three fours and as many sixes to pile 41 runs off 16 balls before playing a false stroke against Dushmantha Chameera and getting dismissed in the 18th over. David Willey (26*)switched gears for a short while and propelled the score to 183/10 before losing out on partners.

In reply, the Capitals got an undesirable start after the left-arm bowlers of the Knight Riders broke through three-fourths of their top four inside the powerplay. David Warner and Sikandar Raza struggled to add 31 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter was outdone by the smartness of Imad Wasim in the eighth over. Eventually, Rovman Powell and Rahul Chopra followed back to the hut, leaving the chasing side languishing at 67/6 after 10.3 overs. Warner failed to gain proper support from the other hand during his 27-ball 42 and was outwitted by Wasim in the next over itself. Although it seemed a cakewalk for the Knight Riders, the Capitals lower order showed grit by adding 83 runs altogether. Jason Holder’s 21-ball 42 gained the limelight but the equation was too large for them to overhaul and eventually, the Knight Riders extended their winning spree by a 29-run win.

Real sportsman spirit

Reached the landmark

Magical

Lol

Significant milestone

Comfortable victory

Irrelavant

Anyway, it is a great beginning

 

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