END OF OVER:20 | 11 Runs 1 Wkt | DV: 180/6 (2 runs required, RR: 9.00)
- Tom Bruce2 (2b)
- Dan Lawrence11 (7b)
- Ajay Kumar4-0-47-2
- Andre Russell3-0-16-2
Right then, hope you enjoyed this riveting contest! Thanks for joining us and see you tomorrow with more ILT20 action. For now, it's goodbye and goodnight from Rvel Zahid and our team at ESPNcricinfo
Lockie Ferguson, Desert Vipers Captain: Look, great game of cricket, right down to the wire. Boys will obviously be hurting but we'll take the learnings from tonight. Knight Riders batted really well to get to that total but our bowlers bowled well too. It was around par -- one run too many, maybe (chuckles). We tend to learn more from the losses… we've had a lot of confidence build up over the tournament and we look forward to the next game.
Jason Holder, Knight Riders Captain: Credit to our bowlers for holding their nerve and to the batters for setting up the game. Tough in the end and really glad the boys got the job done. Thought his spell was game-changing -- got wickets and stemmed the run flow. Still got quality and has a few years left in his career. (on Russell) (On batting) I thought we paced it quite well. Obviously, we lost two quick wickets but got a few partnerships going and they read the situation well.
Liam Livingstone, Player of the Match: It's been a bit frustrating … had trust in the way I've been playing. Obviously came in a difficult situation and we needed a score to give us a chance. Obvious we needed to win. Slogged it into the leg side (my strengths). Pretty happy with the way I paced it -- getting 25 off 25 and then pressing on the gas accelerator. Most pleasing thing is being able to get a score and contribute. (On partnership with Alishan) That's my job -- to be the responsible one, the experienced one and try to stay in to build partnerships further down the line. Thankfully it came off well today and hopefully we can continue.
A one-run win for Knight Riders helps them get on the board! A well-deserved victory for them and Holder claps his hands and breathes a sigh of relief! Kumar bowled a memorable last over; a masterstroke from Holder to entrust him with it, even though his previous overs were a bit of a mixed bag and not exactly accurate. But he delivered the goods when it mattered most. Holder bowled superbly, conceding just 28 in his quota. Narine did Narine things - never a surprise - as he was, as always, very economical, though he didn't take any wickets. Russell was on top of his game as well. Holden and Fakhar gave the side a blazing start and made life easier for the middle order but maybe if one of them had stayed a little longer, the game would have been one-way traffic in favor of Vipers. Once they both got out, ADKR sensed the opportunity, stemmed the run flow, picked wickets at regular intervals and made the equation onerous for the opposition. Surely one of the best games of the season so far!
Shadow-Shell: "Umm, this is not Knight Riders' first win of this season. They've already won in their first match, against Sharjah Warriors"
SalmanKhan : "@Kasinathan: Knight Riders don't want to win. How can they not bowl out Russell is beyond comprehension!! A massive blunder"
