In Match No. 11 of the inaugural edition of the International League T20, MI Emirates was up against Kolkata’s sister franchise Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Saturday, January 21 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
A bizarre incident happened during the match when Emirates’ bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi couldn’t grip the ball properly and almost hurled the ball over the head of the batter and the keeper nearly for a six. The ball slipped out of his hand, resulting in five extra runs for the opponent.
Watch Fazalhaq Farooqi’s video here:
Kabhi Kabhi Aisa Bhee Hota Hai
😐😐pic.twitter.com/Ac4jjGKIIj— International League T20 (@ILT20Official) January 21, 2023
Asked to bat first, Knight Riders’ essay was all about the Sri Lankan allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva. He kept the scoreboard moving even as wickets kept falling at the other end. He added a 45-run stand with fellow countryman, Charith Asalanka and brought up his half-century off 31 balls but they lost a bit of impetus after he got out on 65 runs, and if not for Narine’s (28 off 18) cameo, they would have ended with a below par total. Trent Boult and Farooqi were the best bowler from their side and restricted the Knight Riders to the score of 170 runs in 20 overs.
Brilliant match-winning partnership by Bravo and Zadran
Chasing the target, Emirates didn’t start well as they lost both their openers, Will Smeed and Muhammad Waseem, on the score of just 27, but Andre Fletcher and Nicholas Pooran steadied the innings with a 50+ stand. But timely wickets in the middle overs pegged them back and left Kieron Pollard and Co. needing more than 12 rpo. Fletcher played a responsible inning of 53 runs off 43 deliveries, which included 4 fours and 1 six.
The skipper started the fireworks when he took on Akeal Hosein and the pair of Najibullah Zadran (35* off 17) and Dwayne Bravo (15* off 6) finished it off. They needed 20 off the final over and Russell could not defend that as the Emirates achieved the total on the very last ball of the match. This win made it three out of three for Emirates and they’re tied on points with the Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants.
