Twitterati cannot keep calm as MI Emirates clinch last-ball thriller against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

Andre Russell conceded three sixes and a four in his final over while bowling to Najibullah Zadran and Dwayne Bravo.

By Karthik Nair

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Najibullah Zadran and DJ Bravo
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Najibullah Zadran and DJ Bravo. (Photo Source: Zee 5)

The match 11 of the International League T20 (ILT20) 2023 saw MI Emirates snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by five wickets in a last-ball thriller at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, January 21. The thrilling win by Emirates ensured that the Knight Riders’ losing streak in the ongoing tournament continues.

Knight Riders had come into the contest on the back of a humiliating 111-run defeat at the hands of Desert Vipers just a day earlier (Friday, January 20) and it had done some severe damage to their overall net run rate. The Sunil Narine-led side now must get back to the drawing board and make some tough calls.

MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard won the toss and chose to bowl first. The move turned out to be a good one as seasoned New Zealand pacer Trent Boult struck in the very first over to remove opener Kennar Lewis for a duck. Sri Lanka batter Dhananjaya de Silva then continued to take the attack to the opposition from the other end.

Brandon King was the next man to be dismissed scoring a painstaking six runs off 13 deliveries. Dhananjaya top-scored for Abu Dhabi with a splendid 40-ball-65 and some vital contributions from Charith Asalanka (23) and an unbeaten 28 from captain Sunil Narine helped them in posting 170/7 on the board. For the MI Emirates, Fazalhaq Farooqui and Zahoor Khan chipped in with two scalps each.

Dwayne Bravo and Najibullah Zadran do the unthinkable

In reply, MI Emirates lost openers Will Smeed and Muhammad Waseem early, but the Caribbean duo of Andre Fletcher and Nicholas Pooran then took care of the run-scoring and continued to anchor their side’s chase.

Fletcher continued to play well despite Pooran’s dismissal for 20 and scored a superb 43-ball-53 before being dismissed by Lahiru Kumara. MI Emirates found themselves in a spot of bother when skipper Kieron Pollard was sent back for 31 runs off 23 deliveries in the penultimate over.

At the end of the penultimate over, the game seemed to be lost for MI Emirates as they needed 20 runs off the final over which was bowled by Andre Russell.

The duo of Dwayne Bravo and Najibullah Zadran, who had spent some time at the crease, unleashed their power-hitting skills in the final over and took Russell to the cleaners scoring three sixes and a four to get the job done for the MI Emirates in a last-ball thriller.

Here’s how Twitterati reacted to MI Emirates’ thrilling win:

 

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ILT20 2023Abu Dhabi Knight RidersMI EmiratesDhananjaya de SilvaNajibullah ZadranAndre RussellDwayne Bravo