ILT20 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Desert Vipers Match 7
The Desert Vipers, captained by Colin Munro, have moved to second in the points table after beating the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by seven wickets in Match No.7 of the ILT20 on Wednesday, January 18 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The Vipers are locked on four points with MI Emirates, led by Kieron Pollard, but the latter has a better net run rate of +1.919. The Knight Riders, in the meantime, lost their third match in a row and kept languishing at the bottom of the table with a net run rate of -2.723.
Vipers thump Knight Riders in ILT20 2023
After being put in to bat first, the Knight Riders huffed and puffed their way to 133 for the loss of eight wickets. Brandon King, who opened the batting in place of Paul Stirling, scored 57 runs off 44 balls with five fours and two sixes. But he didn’t get much support from the others.
Charith Asalanka and Colin Ingram scored 26 and 15 respectively, but their efforts went in vain. Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers for the Vipers after he finished with figures of 4-1-18-3. Gus Atkinson was also impressive with two important scalps.
The Vipers got off to a flying start in their run-chase after Rohan Mustafa and Alex Hales put on 39 for the opening wicket off 3.3 overs. Akeal Hosein separated them after he dismissed Mustafa, who scored 23 off 11 with five fours.
However, Hales went on to stay unbeaten on 64 off 47 with seven fours and one six. Skipper Munro failed, but Sam Billings chipped in with a 35-run knock to make sure the Vipers didn’t suffer many hiccups in their run-chase.
In the end, the Vipers tracked down the target with 26 balls to spare. Hosein was the pick of the bowlers after he got a wicket and bowled at an economy rate of six.