Allah Ghazanfar’s three-wicket haul restricted Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to 120/8 before Shakib Al Hasan and Tom Banton powered MI Emirates into the final of ILT20 Season 4 with a seven-wicket win in Qualifier 2. Their match-winning 82-run stand set up a final clash against Desert Vipers in January in Dubai. MI Emirates booked their place in the ILT20 Season 4 final with a convincing seven-wicket win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday. After restricting the Knight Riders to 120/8, Shakib Al Hasan and Tom Banton sealed the chase to set up the final clash against the Desert Vipers on January 4 at the Dubai International Stadium.Allah Ghazanfar claimed three wickets for 24 runs while Alishan Sharaf’s unbeaten half-century guided the Knight Riders to a modest total. In response, Banton (62 off 53) and Shakib (38 off 24) put on an 82-run partnership from 53 balls, absorbing the early pressure to send MI Emirates into their second final in four seasons.
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MI Emirates got off to a slow start as Andre Fletcher (5 off 6) fell in the second over and Ajay Kumar provided an early breakthrough. Jason Holder and Sunil Narine continued the pressure while Tom Banton and Muhammad Waseem (10 off 14) looked to turn the strike around, leaving MI Emirates 26/1 at the end of the powerplay.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!The pair then stabilized the chase when they overtook Olly Stone ten times in the seventh over. However, Narine broke their 30-run stand off 35 balls in the following over, trapping Waseem LBW. Shakib then joined Banton and pushed the pace as he hit Liam Livingstone for a six and two fours in the decisive 17th over in the 12th over. The pair put up their 50-run partnership in just 29 balls.
Tom Banton of MI Emirates plays the shot (ILT20)
Banton reached his half-century off 49 balls in the 15th over, hitting Holder for four fours and collecting 18 runs. This reduced the equation to just eight runs from the last five overs. Although Shakib fell in the 16th over, MI Emirates completed the chase in 23 balls.Earlier, Michael Pepper (1 off 4) was run out by a brilliant direct hit from Andre Fletcher in the second over before Brandon McMullen (13 off 8) was trapped LBW by Muhammad Rohid in the fourth. With boundaries being hard to come by, the power play firmly belonged to the MI Emirates bowlers as the Knight Riders climbed to 31/2.
With the bat, the emphasis was on batting time and mastering overs, especially against spinners. That was my role today. In pressure games, the loss of goals is very difficult to recover.
Shakib Al Hasan
Liam Livingstone’s innings (4 off 10) ended with Rohid’s error in the seventh over. The spinners then tightened the screws, with boundaries preventing Arab Gul’s expensive 12th over, which was 13.Alex Hales (29 off 36) and Alishan Sharafu (50 not out off 40) briefly raised the pace to 47 runs off 44 balls before Ghazanfar dismissed Hales with the final 14th over.
Alishan Sharafu was the only bright spot for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Ghazanfar came back in the 18th over to claim two wickets in the same over, first removing Jason Holder (1 off 2) who edged Kieron Pollard before sending Sunil Narine (4 off 3) back to the pavilion. Sharafu brought up his half-century off the last ball of the innings as the Knight Riders labored to 120/8.Man of the match Shakib Al Hasan said: “It was a key match for us and winning the toss helped us. The bowlers were excellent and kept picking up wickets which made the difference. With the bat, we focused on timing our batting and managing the overs, especially against the spinners. That was my role today. In pressure games, losing wickets is very difficult to get back.”
Allah Ghazanfar of MI Emirates celebrates a wicket (ILT20)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders captain Jason Holder said: “It was a tough goal early on and we struggled to build momentum. Still, considering where we were halfway through the tournament, I thought it was a solid effort overall. We didn’t have it tonight, but the effort throughout the campaign was outstanding. Andre was outstanding and everyone contributed at different stages.”A brief score Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: 120 for 8 in 20 overs (Alishan Sharafu 50 not out, Alex Hales 29; Allah Ghazanfar 3/24, Muhammad Rohid 2/19, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/30)MI Emirates: 120 for 3 in 16.1 overs (Tom Banton 62 not out, Shakib Al Hasan 38; Ajay Kumar 2/13, Sunil Narine 1/20)
