Gulf Giants vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, 30th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

That, then, is a wrap of the league stage. Onto the knock-outs now. The qualifier is on Tuesday and eliminator, on Thursday. We can't wait to bring you all the action from those games. Cheers!!

Michael-Kyle Pepper: Ultimately it was about waiting for the right matchups. It depends on which bowler you fancy and which you don’t, and sometimes one of us might fancy a matchup where the other one isn’t so keen. When you do fancy a bowler, you try to get as much strike as possible, but we also knew it was going to be tough at the start, so it was about waiting for the right time to attack and keeping wickets in hand. We actually spoke about it in the middle, especially once more of the spinners came on. Phil was giving me most of the strike to try and attack because it was my matchup and I was happy to take those on. In terms of taking this form into the playoffs, momentum is important, trying to get on a run, and form-wise you just keep working hard. There’s not too much else to it and when it’s your day, you try to cash in. We’ve got so much firepower that hopefully there’s always going to be someone who can step up. The work Jason Holder has done as captain and the backroom staff has been brilliant. Training-wise, the different options, the wickets that were prepared, and the conversations we’ve had show how much hard work has gone in. A lot of hours and effort from the staff, and they’ve been outstanding.

James Vince: They got probably 20 or 30 over the par score on that pitch. Obviously we didn’t get early wickets and allowed them to play with freedom, without the worry of a couple of early wickets, so credit to the way both Pepper and Salt played. We probably didn’t bowl our best, and conditions were tough for batting out there, so for them to get 180 for one was probably a few too many. Mo (Moeen Ali) played unbelievably well in the chase. I think we got to what was a par-ish score, but we weren’t able to get those early wickets, build the pressure, and have new men coming in on a wicket that was offering a bit of spin and variable bounce, so it was probably a bit too much to do in the second half. We can look back on a number of things. We started the competition well and then went on a run of six defeats in a row, so there’s plenty to digest. In moments in the game we’ve not quite been able to grab the initiative, get ahead and really stay on top. We’ve been in games for a lot of those losses but haven’t been able to get ahead and get the job done. We were all out there for 20 overs and saw the ball gripping, so the fine balance in hindsight was having wickets in hand with someone to bat with Mo through the middle. We knew it was going to be tough with the quality of spinners they had through the middle with the field out, so we felt we had to match what they got in the powerplay and carry momentum, but we lost wickets when we tried to put the accelerator down. Mo got us back into it nicely but left a bit too much to do. He’s a quality player, batting has been reasonably tough throughout the competition and we feel we’ve underperformed a bit, but we know the quality Mo has and tonight was no exception.

Jason Holder: Yeah, extremely pleased, obviously. This is one of the things we set out to do at the start of the campaign, to firstly qualify and then give ourselves a chance to lift the trophy. We’ve ticked one box by getting into the playoffs, so credit to everyone in the dressing room. It’s been a tough season, very up and down, and now is the time to peak. We’re starting to get a bit of momentum and hopefully we can carry that into the eliminator, win that and move on. To get 179 in those conditions, the key was the opening partnership. I thought Salt played an outstanding innings just to support Peps (Pepper), as Peps was flowing. His innings was crucial in the way he went about it, he read the situation really well and batted deep, which is what we needed. Peps played an outstanding innings and was one of the few guys, apart from Mo (Moeen Ali), who got in and got going from ball one and was able to flow. It was great to see because he hasn’t had a consistent run, but to come in for such an important game and play with that freedom shows the depth we’ve got on the bench. Credit to him for sticking through the hardships, not playing at times, and staying consistent with his attitude. It’s been a long journey for me personally. At the end of 2024 I was struggling a bit with my shoulder and had to take some time off, and I was uncertain how things would go. To rally back and have the year I’ve had has been great, but the better feeling now is seeing if we can go as deep as possible in this tournament and win it. Narine was outstanding, we’ve had to get him to be a bit more aggressive, but it was great to see how he expressed himself. I thought he led well with his attitude, gave me a lot of input in the field, and his energy was really good. Those two crucial wickets pushed us back into the game and gave us a good chance to win. Looking ahead, we’re really looking forward to playing the Capitals. They’ve had the better of us so far, but this feels like the best time to beat them. Teams that sneak in at the end can be dangerous, so hopefully this momentum carries us far and deep into the tournament.

22:12 local, 18:12 GMT, 23:42 IST: Chasing 180, only one batter got past 20. That should tell you everything you need to know. Moeen Ali waged a lone battle and smacked 78 off 49 that included 5 fours and 5 sixes. The rest just didn't turn up. While Holder got rid of both the openers, Sunil Narine offered control through the middle overs, and Andre Russell provided the finishing touches. It's a near-perfect game for the Knight Riders, and they needed it very badly after losing two on the bounce prior to this. Spare a thought for the Giants though! After winning their first 4 games, they looked like one of the first sides to make it to the playoffs, only to lose six on the trot and finish penultimate on the table. Stick around for the post-match reactions...

Russell to Ali Khan, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Good to see Ali Khan back up on his feet. The physio is examining the area where he got hit before conducting the concussion check. The umpires are allowing Ali Khan to take his time. All set to resume again, here we go...