- BATSMENRBM4s6sSR4.1 Stone strikes straightaway! Shortish ball on the sixth stump channel, pace on delivery and Nissanka plays the pull shot away from the body, miscues the stroke and skies it high towards the short fine leg area. Phil Salt moves to his left side, settles underneath and gobbles it up under the night sky. the 40/114.3 Sharafu takes a screamer! Pace off fuller length ball angling away outside off, shuffles across and extends his arms, drags it away from the body and hits it flat towards deep midwicket. Sharafu comes forward, sprinting and dives in fully stretched, pouches the low catch and holds onto it. 131/47.1 And Chawla finds the breakthrough! Back of a length ball outside off, moves onto the back foot and plays a poor shot, a back-foot punch aerially straight to the safe hands of Alishan Sharafu at short cover. Soft dismissal! 70/212.3 Another soft dismissal! Flighted length ball on middle-leg, Ali shimmies down the track again and tries to go over the midwicket area, deceived by the googly ball and outside edges a straightforward catch for Russell at short third. 112/315.3 straight up in the air, and Holder completes the catch! Generously flighted googly ball on the fifth stump line, gets down on one knee and goes for the big heave across the line, clips it in the air towards the cover area inside the circle, Holder settles underneath and makes no mistake. 135/516.5 slower ball does the trick again! Widish length ball outside off, Dickson throws his bat at it, extends his arms and only manages to chip it in the air to Narine at cover inside the circle. 143/715.4 Cleaned him up with a beaut! Tossed up a flighted wrong-un ball on the fifth stump line, plays through the line of the ball with no visible foot movement, the ball turns in and sneaks past through the gap between bat-pad, hits the timber and sends the bails flying. 135/6Extras6 (b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 3)TOTAL165/7 (20 Overs, RR: 8.25)Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Pathum Nissanka, 4.1 ov), 2-70 (James Vince, 7.1 ov), 3-112 (Moeen Ali, 12.3 ov), 4-131 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 14.3 ov), 5-135 (Azmatullah Omarzai, 15.3 ov), 6-135 (Matthew Forde, 15.4 ov), 7-143 (Sean Dickson, 16.5 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s WD NB JO Holder 4 0 37 1 9.25 7 2 2 0 0 Ajay Kumar 4 0 30 1 7.5 8 2 1 0 0 OP Stone 3 0 32 1 10.66 7 3 2 0 0 SP Narine 4 0 27 0 6.75 7 2 0 1 0 PP Chawla 4 0 27 4 6.75 12 1 2 0 0 AD Russell 1 0 10 0 10 1 0 0 2 1
Player of the Match
Player of the Match
- BATSMENRBM4s6sSR7.2 soft dismissal! Bringing his length back a fraction short on middle-leg, turning in on the pads, Salt plays the on-drive without any foot movement and chips the ball with hard hands to the short midwicket fielder. 61/114.3 Gurbaz celebrappeals but neither the bowler nor the umpire is interested. Vince sends it upstairs. Widish yorker ball outside off, Hales throws his bat at it and attempts to shovel it away, hitting the ground with the bat. Replay confirmed a faint edge as the ball passes the outside edge of the bat before Hales strikes the ground. Excellent game awareness from Gurbaz, and Hales' brilliant innings finally come to an end. 125/39.4 Beaten by the googly and gone! Generously flighted wrong-un ball pitching on the off stump line and turning away, Livingstone hops out of the crease and goes for the big heave again like the previous over, only this time he misses the line and length completely, deceived by the googly ball and having no intention to return to the crease either, turns back and watches how Gurbaz clips the bails off. 80/216.3 dragged onto the stumps, game on! Slower back of a length ball on middle-leg, he shuffles across for a paddle scoop but gets an inside edge onto his thigh pad, parrying the ball onto the top of the leg stump. Rutherford stands in a daze, offering a dry smile of disbelief before slowly trudging back to the dugout. 136/515.2 squares him up with a peach! Slower through the air, googly ball pitching on middle-leg and turning away from the batter, Sharafu walks forward to negate the flighted ball across the line, closes the face of the bat early and completely misses the ball, disturbs the furniture and Shamsi is pumped up! 128/418.3 chips it in the air and Vince grabs it! Slower bouncer ball around the fifth stump line, plays the swivel pull shot and mistimes it in the air. Vince moves forward a few steps from the cover area and grabs the catch with the reverse cup technique. 158/6Extras12 (b 2, lb 5, nb 1, w 4)TOTAL167/6 (19.2 Overs, RR: 8.63)Fall of wickets: 1-61 (Phil Salt, 7.2 ov), 2-80 (Liam Livingstone, 9.4 ov), 3-125 (Alex Hales, 14.3 ov), 4-128 (Alishan Sharafu, 15.2 ov), 5-136 (Sherfane Rutherford, 16.3 ov), 6-158 (Jason Holder, 18.3 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s WD NB CP Wood 3.2 0 24 1 7.2 9 2 1 1 0 MW Forde 4 0 34 0 8.5 8 2 1 2 1 FJ Klaassen 4 0 37 2 9.25 7 3 2 0 0 Aayan Afzal Khan 3 0 26 0 8.66 5 1 2 0 0 T Shamsi 4 0 23 3 5.75 8 0 0 1 0 MM Ali 1 0 16 0 16 3 1 2 0 0
Match Details
Toss
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders , elected to field first
Player Of The Match
Season
Hours of play (local time)
18.30 start, First Session 18.30-20.00, Interval 20.00-20.20, Second Session 20.20-21.50
Match days
18 December 2025 - night match (20-over match)
Umpires
TV Umpires
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
Points
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 2, Gulf Giants 0
Match Notes
- Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 59 runs, 1 wicket)
- Gulf Giants: 50 runs in 5.2 overs (32 balls), Extras 2
- Strategic Timeout: Gulf Giants - 81/2 in 9.0 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 41, MM Ali 4)
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz: 50 off 32 balls (2 x 4, 4 x 6)
- Gulf Giants: 100 runs in 10.6 overs (67 balls), Extras 6
- Strategic Timeout: Gulf Giants - 132/4 in 15.0 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 4, SR Dickson 1)
- Gulf Giants: 150 runs in 17.6 overs (109 balls), Extras 6
- Innings Break: Gulf Giants - 165/7 in 20.0 overs (Asif Khan 14, Aayan Afzal Khan 9)
- Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 53 runs, 0 wicket)
- Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: 50 runs in 5.3 overs (33 balls), Extras 4
- 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 33 balls (PD Salt 34, AD Hales 14, Ex 4)
- Strategic Timeout: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders - 53/0 in 6.0 overs (PD Salt 34, AD Hales 15)
- Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: 100 runs in 12.2 overs (74 balls), Extras 5
- Over 14.3: Review by Gulf Giants (Bowling), Decision Challenged - Wicket, Umpire - Aasif Iqbal, Batter - AD Hales (Upheld)
- Strategic Timeout: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders - 128/4 in 15.2 overs (SE Rutherford 28)
- Over 15.3: Review by Gulf Giants (Bowling), Decision Challenged - Wicket, Umpire - WR Knights, Batter - AD Russell (Struck down)
- Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: 150 runs in 17.6 overs (109 balls), Extras 10
- Over 19.1: Review by Gulf Giants (Bowling), Decision Challenged - Wicket, Umpire - WR Knights, Batter - AD Russell (Struck down)
ILT20 News
Sri Lanka name Kusal Mendis ODI and T20I captain for WI tour
Wanindu Hasaranga is set to return to action in ODIs and T20Is since tearing his hamstring early in the T20 World Cup in February
Bangladesh's quiet match-winner Taijul Islam delivers once again
In Sylhet, the experienced left-arm spinner showed why Bangladesh trust him when conditions and situations get tough
Shanto praises 'healthy competition' within bowling unit after series win
Bangladesh captain highlighted the bowlers' consistency and competitiveness as central to the series victory against Pakistan
Masood leaves captaincy future to PCB but calls for 'structural' changes
After a series loss to Bangladesh, Pakistan captain urged his side to reflect on recurring failures and address the "root causes" behind their slide in Tests
Taijul takes six as Bangladesh complete 2-0 sweep
Rizwan's 94 went in vain as Pakistan fell 78 short of their target of 437





