END OF OVER:20 | 5 Runs 1 Wkt | GG: 147/9 (33 runs required, RR: 7.35)
- Mark Adair15 (14b)
- Muhammad Zuhaib2 (2b)
- Andre Russell2-0-13-3
- Jason Holder4-0-24-2
That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo. Goodbye on behalf of Sudeep and me, Sreshth. Take care.
Time for the presentation. Ian Bishop with the mic.
Losing captain Vince: "The pitch... they got 20-30 over the par score. We didn't get early wickets. Credit to how Pepper and Salt played. We didn't bowl our best and conditions were tough for batting. 180/1 was too many. Moeen batted well. Six defeats in a row hurt us. In games, we've been in contention but haven't grabbed the game and gone ahead."
Winning captain Holder: "Extremely pleased. This was the goal to start the season. Ticked one box by reaching playoffs. We've gotten a bit of momentum and hope to carry that into the eliminator. The opening partnership set the tone for us. Outstanding innings from Salt to support Peppers since he was flowing. Salt batted deep, Pepper was outstanding. Great to see that. Pepper hasn't had a consistent run, but to come in in this important game for us... shows our depth and credit to him for riding the ups and downs.At the end of 2024, I was struggling with my shoulder and had to take some time off, but personally, happy to have the year I've had. The better feeling now is to see how deep we can go in the ILT20. It was good to see how Narine bowled. Gave me a lot of input in the field. His energy was good too.
Player of the Match, M Pepper (83 off 51): "Ultimately it was waiting for the right match-ups, depending on which bowler you fancy. One of us fancied some bowlers, the other one wasn't so keen. We knew it was going to be tough starting on, so it was also important to wait for the right moment. Salt and I spoke about things when the spinners came on. He gave me most of the strike to the spinners and I was happy to take them on. Momentum now comes into it, trying to get into a run. Form wise, got to just keep working hard. Hopefully, when it's your day, you try to cash in. Training wise, the wickets prepared and the chats we've had, had a lot of work with the backroom staff."
10.15pm A superb game from Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. With the bat, they bossed the situation given the surface. With the ball, only Moeen Ali troubled them. Top captaincy and bowling from Jason Holder. Sunil Narine excellent too. Kudos to Pepper and Salt for their own performances with the bat. Pepper, in particular, for keeping the batting tempo up while Salt was struggling with timing.
The league stage is done. ADKR will meet Dubai Capitals in the eliminator on January 1. Before that, we'll have the Qualifier 1 on November 30 between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates.