Abu Dhabi: Leg spinner Adil Rashid produced a fine spell of 4 for 12 to help Sharjah Warriors register a superb 7-wicket win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the DP World ILT20 season 2 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. His brilliant four overs ensured Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were bowled out for a paltry 94 runs in 17.1 overs. The win meant Warriors’ ended their three-match losing streak and also snap Knight Riders’ three-match winning run. It has also helped them remain in contention to reach the qualifiers, rising from the bottom of the table to the fourth position.
Chasing the moderate target, Liam Livingstone’s breezy knock of 30 off 13 balls and Niroshan Dickwella’s run-a-ball 30 runs, and their 52 runs partnership in 26 balls for the second wicket, ensured their team a victory in 13.5 overs with 37 balls to spare.
Rashid, after bagging the Player of the Match award, said: “The seamers set it up, kept it tight and allowed me and the others to come into our own. I tried to vary it at times, bowl a bit slower and some days it works. Fortunate for myself on how it went today.”
Bouncing back
A happy Warriors’ skipper Kohler Cadmore said: “It’s nice to bounce back and finish relatively comfortably. Every time I have played here, it has been a belter. But when Rash (Adil Rashid) come in to bowl, we knew spin was the way to go. We’ve got so many spin options, it was great to get it right with the ball.”
Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine said: “We lost wickets in the first 6-8 overs, and then in the middle overs as well. We didn’t get a total we could defend. It surprised us how much it spun today, but we should have adjusted better to these conditions.”
Brief scores: Sharjah Warriors bt Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 7 wkts. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 94 in 17.1 overs (Michael Pepper 32, Alishan Sharafu 26, Adil Rashid 4 for 12, Joe Denly 2 for 0) Sharjah Warriors 95 for 3 in 13.5 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 30, Liam Livingstone 30, Imad Wasim 2 for 20). Player of the Match: Adil Rashid.
