MI Emirates vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Qualifier 2 - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Second final for MI Emirates, and a third for the Desert Vipers. Remember, MI Emirates lifted the trophy in the second edition, while the Vipers are still in search of their maiden title. Can they finally get it done this time around? It’s all set up for a cracker of a final on Sunday in Dubai. Do make sure to join us for that all-important clash. Until then, cheers and goodbye!!

Kieron Pollard: Emotions are high, emotions are great. The way the guys have performed throughout the entire tournament - you can’t fault them. We’ve had guys coming in and guys going out. Just before the toss, we had an injury as well, and the guys responded pretty well. You can put it down to a bit of everything. It was still a decent batting track. It went on a bit in the second innings because of the dew, which we knew was going to come in. In games like these, on a small ground like this, it’s very important to see what’s in front of you. It’s very hard to defend runs on a small ground. The way we started at the eight-over stage, I knew that if we stuck with it, 140 would have been challenging. If you look at the history of the Knight Riders (talking about 4 overs of spin in the powerplay) and their batters, they like the ball coming onto the bat. In the third and fourth overs when the seamers bowled, their backlifts were higher and they looked more confident. I had to mix and match to get the combination right within the first six overs. In the last two games we played against them, spin came up trumps as well. They’re (Desert Vipers) going to be a challenge. I said after the last game when they beat us that they’ve played tremendous cricket throughout the tournament. We shouldn’t feel sorry for ourselves because of the way they went about it. For us, the pressure is back on them. They haven’t won. We understand what it takes to win. They’ve been to the final a couple of times and faltered. For us, it’s about continuing our process, not getting too far ahead of ourselves, and playing cricket the way we have been playing it. We’ve been here for over six weeks. It comes down to one final game and one final effort.

Shakib Al Hasan | Player of the Match: It was a very important, must-win game for both teams. Winning the toss helped, and I thought our bowlers were exceptional. We kept taking wickets, which was the key. Gazanfar bowled brilliantly, and the others supported him well without giving away too many runs. That prevented them from building partnerships. With the bat, it was about spending time at the crease and managing the spinners. That was my role today, and I’m glad I could do it for the team. The pitch offered something for the bowlers and wasn’t easy to score freely on. Sensible batting was required, but in a pressure game, losing wickets regularly makes it very difficult to recover. Before the game, it was clear that my role was to take on the spinners while Tom batted through. I was able to take the pressure off him, and he played a special innings. Batting at the top for 15 or 16 overs is invaluable in T20 cricket, and he’s been doing that consistently for us. We’re very thankful to him.

Jason Holder: It was a tough wicket to start on, and we didn’t get going in the powerplay. Scoring 120 on this pitch was always going to be challenging - it was quite dreary and a bit wet, making it hard to defend. I thought the bowlers did a reasonable job trying to defend the total, but it was always a tall ask. Considering where we were at the midway point of the competition, it’s a decent effort to get this far. But looking at it holistically, we probably fell short and let ourselves down a little. That said, I credit everyone in the dressing room and the support staff. The effort to regroup every day and make the playoffs was tremendous, even though we couldn’t go deeper. From a tournament perspective, our local players were outstanding. Ajay was excellent all season, and Ali Sharafu was another big positive. Those two were real bright spots. It was also great to see Peps (Pepper) come back into the tournament and contribute. Salty showed tremendous character managing his injuries, and Livvy (Livingstone) chipped in as well. Everyone contributed at different stages; we just couldn’t put it all together consistently. That’s cricket sometimes.

21:38 local, 17:38 GMT, 23:08 IST: That was a thoroughly professional chase from MI Emirates. They lost Fletcher in the second over, and his opening partner, Muhammad Waseem - despite receiving a reprieve on 6 - failed to make any real impact, getting out first ball to Sunil Narine in the 8th over. There was no pressure from the required rate, but Shakib showed great intent from the outset and helped ease the burden on Banton. The duo stitched together an 82-run stand for the third wicket and never really allowed the Knight Riders a chance to mount a comeback. Banton played the anchor role to perfection, bringing up a composed fifty and finishing the game with nearly four overs to spare. Stick around for the post-match reactions...

Ajay Kumar to Shakib, THATS OUT!! Caught!!