Giants claim nail-biting last-ball thriller to book playoff berth

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Blessings Muzarabani held his nerve and bowled a tight last over after Jamie Overton took three wickets and James Vince hit a 50, to guide Gulf Giants to a thrilling three-run win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in a tantalizing finish of their DP World ILT20 match on Saturday.

In their pursuit of 167, Knight Riders needed 11 off the last over. Sunil Narine was run out while trying to steal a cheeky second which brought the equation down to five needed to win.

Evans, who had kept the chase alive, could not connect the ball when it mattered the most as Muzarabani did not allow him to hit the boundary as Giants thwarted Knight Riders to 163/9 to notch up fourth successive victory and book their berth in the playoffs.

England firebrand batsman Jason Roy, who joined Knight Riders on Saturday, led the chase with a blitzkrieg 31-ball 47. After Overton got Michael Pepper for a duck, Roy took the charge in his hands. He shared a couple of fifty-run partnerships to put the chase back on the track. Roy along with Joe Clarke added 50 runs for the second wicket in just 4.3 overs.

He lived up to his reputation and dominated the Giants’ bowlers with the prowess of some powerful hitting. It was Clarke, who flexed his muscles in the third over. He hit Muzarabani for three consecutive boundaries. Roy also got into his groove as he took 20 runs off the fourth over bowled by Erasmus. He belted two sixes and two fours as Giants fielders  were mere spectators to the batting spectacle.

In the next over, Overton struck again and broke the dangerous-looking partnership to bring some respite to the Giants camp. After the dismissal of Clarke, Roy and Alishan Sharafu knuckled down to repair the damage.

They batted sensibly and took the score past the 100-run mark as the Knight Riders looked set to overhaul the target with ease. But the UAE pair of Ayaan Afzal Khan and Zuhaib Zubair derailed the chase once again with a twin strike within a space of two runs.

Roy failed to get into the line of the ball as he attempted to pull Ayaan. The ball went past Roy, brushing the leg-stumps slightly, which was enough to dismantle the bails.

In the next over, Zubair foxed Sharafu with a flighted delivery. He could not get to the pitch of the ball, missing it completely as an agile wicket-keeper Smith collected the ball and knocked off the bails, Knight Riders were reduced to 104/4 from 100/1.

The onus of taking Knight Riders through came on Laurie Evans, who along with Imad Waseem added 29 runs for the fifth wicket to take the match as deep as possible.

Overton sent back Imad for his third scalp of the day. In the partnership of 29 runs, Imad’s contribution was only 4 runs. After his dismissal, Knight Riders lost quite a few wickets in quick succession.

Evans was waging the lone battle with a gritty innings. He brought the equation down 12 needed of eight before Willey was found short of his ground. Jordan clean bowled Sagar Kalyan for a golden duck as Knight Riders lost two wickets and scored three runs in the eventful penultimate over.

James Vince and Jordan Cox gave the Giants a dream start. They shared a 103-run partnership for the first wicket to set the tone for a big total. Both the batsmen scored fifties and kept the Knight Riders’ bowlers at bay.

Vince has been in sublime form in the tournament. Giants’ batting revolves around Vince and Shermon Hetmyer. Both have been instrumental in the Giants run-up to the playoff race.

Giants were virtually out of the race for playoff qualification at one stage as they needed to win all their remaining four matches to remain alive.

But Vince and Hetmyer led from the front to keep their playoff hopes alive by notching up three consecutive wins.  Vince has been consistent at the top while Hetmyer led the charge down the order with some whirlwind knocks.

Vince again started positively and grew in confidence as the match progressed.  Both Vince and Cox took control of the game as Giants bowlers were slogging on the field.

They started off slowly and kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles. They punished the bad deliveries, sending them outside the boundary rope.

There was a little bit of moisture on the pitch in the beginning of the innings but the Giants bowlers failed to exploit the conditions as Vince and Cox chose their shots wisely.

Cox changed the gears in the sixth over bowled by Little as he collected 18 runs of it with the help of two sixes and one four. Giants reached the fifty in six overs without losing any wicket.

Narine contained the Giants’ opener with a four-run seventh over before both the openers again took 18 runs off Willey in the eight over. Cox raced to his fifty off 28 balls with the help of four sixes and two boundaries.

Vince brought up his fifty in style with a boundary. Imad Waseem got rid of Vince to break the colossal partnership.

Giants failed to capitalize on the 100-run opening stand as they lost two more wickets in quick succession. Ali Khan sent back Cox after Giants had added eight runs to their score.  Cox was taken by Little before Chris Lynn was caught by Narine as Giants were reduced from a strong position of 102/0 to 124/3 in no time.

Hetmyer took the guard and responsibility on his shoulders once again. He smashed an unbeaten 27-ball 39 and shared a 42-run partnership with Jamie Smith to take the score to 166/3. His innings was peppered with five fours.