Abu Dhabi Knight Riders captain Sunil Narine was delighted after a 37-run win against Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai in the ongoing ILT20 on Sunday. ADKR posted a par score of 176 runs after Giants captain James Vince decided to put them into bat and Narine said they were well on course to score 200 runs at one stage.
Michael Pepper top-scored with 57 runs off just 35 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes. Other ADKR batters got off to starts but could not convert them into substantial scores.
On the other hand, Ibrar Ahmed returned with impressive figures of 2-27 in his quota of four overs and Narine said he has seen the UAE bowler in action in T10.
Narine said in the post-match presentation, “I have seen Ibrar in the T10, and I know what is about. He has been putting in the work in the training sessions.”
Speaking on the team’s performance, the veteran said, “We had the self belief that we could perform today. We had a par score today but we were good to score 200 at one stage, so we need to work on that, to maximise the middle order.”
Meanwhile, Michael Pepper was awarded Player of the Match for scoring a match-winning knock for his team.
Pepper said after the win, “When the ball was hard, it was coming on nicely. There wasn’t much bounce on that wicket and through the game it got slower and slower. Had to change my game a bit, was hard to hit it squarer and had to focus on hitting it straight. We have a long batting order, but someone still needs to be the one to step up and hopefully cash in. It is quite different from Abu Dhabi, there is more swing and seam there. More pace and bounce as well. Very pleased with this performance, nice to get that score today in the competition.”
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will next take on MI Emirates at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
