DP World ILT20 2025, Match 27 Review: Gulf Giants keep playoffs hope alive with win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

The Gulf Giants returned to winning ways as they coasted to a fantastic seven-wicket win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the DP World ILT20 clash at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The win sees the Gulf Giants climb up the ladder to the third spot and does a world of good to their playoff chances. The result also means the MI Emirates join the Desert Vipers as the two teams to have qualified for the playoffs. 

Needing a win to stay alive in the competition, the Gulf Giants were brilliant with the ball as they stifled the Knight Riders for 123. In response, they rode on a superb 70-run partnership between Gerhard Erasmus and Tom Curran and some late pinch-hitting from Shimron Hetmyer to clinch the victory.

Earlier, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders made a poor start when they lost both their openers - Kyle Mayers and Andries Gous - inside the opening three overs. They each made one run as the Knight Riders limped to 4/2. Roston Chase offered them some hope as he struck a few boundaries to lead them to 24/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Alishan Sharafu, the local boy who has been among the Knight Riders’ better batsmen this season, was tasked with steering his side at the death overs. He got off the mark with a boundary, but the runs dried up thereon as the Knight Riders managed just three boundaries in the final four overs to put up a modest total of 123.

Speaking on the team's performance, Gulf Giants' head coach, Andy Flower, said: "Well, we're hanging in there. It's been a struggle, that's for sure. But we had to win today and we've won quite comprehensively in the end after a great bowling display. The ball swings down here, it wasn't easy batting for either side. And it's great to get those points and now we've got to wait for results.

"It was fairly tricky batting conditions all the way through, so we had to win the game first before we could think of net run rate. Net run rate, I hear, is not going to be hugely important for our qualification in this instance. We just need, I think we need two results to go our ways. So, by tomorrow night, we'll know whether we're getting through. But our guys did a great job today with the swinging ball up front. Muzarrabani was brilliant again and then Curran and Erasmus were excellent with the bat," he said.

Summing up the season so far, Flower said: Well the tournament is brilliant for UAE cricket, no doubt. We've seen so many youngsters watching us, the crowds have got better and that is going to be so good for UAE cricket. The exposure for the players and the learning experiences they're getting is outstanding. Definitely the interest in the game in this region is growing. And I hear on certain viewing figures and social media following that the league is doing really well. And people love coming here. So I'm looking forward to coming back."

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders' bowling coach, Ravi Rampaul, said: Not enough runs and a nice bowling-friendly wicket. I think the ball swung and seamed around a little bit. But yeah, it's a simple equation for us, come tomorrow and look to win. When we realised the ball was swinging around and seemed wrong. It was a bit hard for the batsmen. I think our batters could have probably rotated the strike a little bit. And then at the back end, with Andre Russell coming, we tried to launch a little platform  at the end. It didn't work out as we wanted to but that's how it goes.

Brief scores

Gulf Giants beat Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by seven wickets

• Gulf Giants 124/3 in 17.5 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 47, Tom Curran 38 not out, Shimron Hetmyer 20 not out, David Willey 2 for 17, Jason Holder 1 for 17)
• Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 123-7 in 20 overs (David Willey 41, Alishan Sharafu 21 not out, Chris Jordan 2 for 20, Mark Adair 2 for 25, Dan Worrall 1 for 13) 

Player of the Match: Dan Worrall

Cricket fans can watch this action-packed tournament on ZEE’s most widely distributed and viewed 15 linear TV channels: &Pictures SD, &Pictures HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema 2, Zee Action, Zee Biskope, Zee Zest SD, Zee Cinemalu HD, Zee Telugu HD, Zee Thirai, Zee Tamil HD, Zee Kannada HD, Zee Zest HD, &Flix SD and &Flix HD. It’s also free to view on one of India’s leading OTT platform – ZEE5.