ADKR clashed against the Giants in their final league stage game of the season. The Knights looked to seal the top-2 position by winning this game and get an inch closer towards ultimate glory. The fans were pumped and ready to support their Knights one final time in the league stages.
The Knights were put into field first by the Giants and looked to pick-up early wickets and restrict the opposition to a below-par total. The bowlers started off with accurate lines & lengths and were aiming to knock over the openers early. However, the Giants openers got off to a solid start and made things tough for ADKR. The spin-duo of Imad & Narine bowled some tight overs and stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs which led to an important wicket. Imad continued to be miserly with the ball allowing no boundary balls. In the latter stage of the innings, it was the Ali Khan magic that brought the Knights back in the game. His execution of tight lengths and searing yorkers didn’t allow the opposition to score big and Ali also picked up 2 crucial wickets. His performance in the death overs allowed the Knights to restrict the Giants for a par-score of 167.
The Knights were rocked early in the run-chase yet they recovered quickly as the duo of Roy and Clarke took them off to a quick start. Jason Roy playing his first game ever for ADKR put on an incredible display of ball-striking. The Knights looked to boss the run-chase, but a few quick wickets put them on the back-foot. Yet, Laurie Evans and Sharafu made sure that they didn't fall behind in the run-chase but the fall of constant wickets made things difficult. The Knights kept fighting till the end and took the chase right till the last over, with Evans leading the charge. Unfortunately, they feel tantalizingly short of the target by just 3 runs. The Knights will take a lot of heart from this performance & will be eyeing to compete at their best come the playoffs.
