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Tue, Jan 13, 2026 | Rajab 24, 1447 | Fajr 05:44 | DXB 
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ILT20: ADKR beat Gulf Giants for second straight win
Piyush Chawla took four wickets for 27 runs, which ensured Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 72 off 45 balls for the Giants, including four fours and five sixes, went in vain
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders held their nerve to secure a well-earned four-wicket win over the Gulf Giants at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Openers Alex Hales (46 off 39) and Phil Salt (35 off 24) made light work of the 167-run chase, blazing to the target with four balls to spare and move up the points table to fourth place from sixth.
Needing 166 runs for the win, Salt and Hales set up a partnership of 61 runs in 44 balls. They were helped by a late flurry of runs from Sherfane Rutherford (30 off 22) and Andre Russell (21* off 13), who negated Tabraiz Shamsi’s three for 23.
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With the ball, Piyush Chawla took four wickets for 27 runs, which ensured Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 72 off 45 balls for the Giants, including four fours and five sixes, went in vain.
Player of the match Piyush Chawla was delighted with his performance.
“When I started out, I never imagined cricket would become my profession — I played purely for the joy of it, and that passion is still there," the 36-year-old spinner said.
"The googly has always come naturally to me, so right now I’m spending more time working on my leg-breaks, experimenting with angles and a slightly more side-on action to get extra turn and put doubt in the batter’s mind.”
Meanwhile, Gulf Giants skipper James Vince said: “At one stage, we were looking at 190 or even 200, so in the end we were probably 20–30 runs short. Without those extra runs, the pressure on them early in the chase was minimal and the required rate stayed under control. I was proud of how we fought back after a tough start — it’s easy to drop off when a team scores quickly in the powerplay, but Tabraiz Shamsi’s wickets brought us back into the game and gave us belief.”
Brief scores
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders beat Gulf Giants by four wickets
Gulf Giants 165/7 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 72, Pathum Nissanka 17, Piyush Chawla 4 for 27, Ajay Kumar 1 for 30)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 167/6 in 19.2 overs (Alex Hales 46, Phil Salt 35, Andre Russell 21 not out, Tabraiz Shamsi 3 for 23, Fred Klaassen 2 for 37)
Player of the match: Piyush Chawla
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