‌ILT20 | Twitter reacts to Gulf Giants sealing playoff spot with nervy last-ball triumph over Knight Riders

The decision to bat first after winning the toss fared well for the Gulf Giants’ opening duo of James Vince and Jordan Cox as they got gathered 52 runs inside the powerplay. Both batters paced their innings with a measured approach and raced to their half-centuries to build a 103-run opening stand. The English pair dominated the first half of the innings with authority before the skipper holed to deep mid-wicket off Imad Wasim in the 12th over. The first breakthrough paved the way for a couple of more wickets as Cox and Chris Lynn were outsmarted by Ali Khan’s disciplined spell, leaving the score reading 132/3 after 16 overs. Unbothered by the sudden jolts, Shimron Hetmyer muscled his way to an unbeaten 37-run blitzkrieg in the slog overs and helped the Giants reach 166/3 in 20 overs.

In reply, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders suffered an early blow after Jamie Overton removed Michael-Kyle Pepper in the first over itself. However, the chasing side remained unfettered as Jason Roy and Joe Clarke smashed eight boundaries altogether en route to a powerplay score of 60/2, even though the latter top-edged off Overton in the fifth over. Alishan Sharafu further built on the foundation set alongside Roy to stitch together a partnership of 53 runs but the duo succumbed within the space of five deliveries with 63 runs still to get off the remaining 50 deliveries. The onus fell on Laurie Evans’ shoulders to get the team through but the wickets kept tumbling at the other end while Overton’s unnerving accuracy kept the runs at bay. Eventually, Evans’ unbeaten 24-ball 33 was not enough with Zimbabwean Blessing Muzarabani conceding just seven runs in the final over despite a front-foot no-ball.