ILT20 2025, Eliminator Review: Pepper, bowlers help ADKR storm into Qualifier 2

Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders locked horns in the Eliminator of ILT20 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, January 1. The Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat first. 

The Capitals skipper Mohammad Nabi introduced himself into the attack first up as Englishmen Phil Salt and Michael Pepper opened for the Knight Riders. The first over turned out to be an expensive one, going for 11 runs. Pepper was the aggressor of the two as he was intent on finding ways to score fast.

The Capitals bowlers could not find their footing as the openers ended the powerplay with 55 runs on the board. The partnership looked settled as Pepper continued to attack. The 27-year-old reached his half century in 36 balls while Salt held the other end up.

The Salt and Pepper show led the team past the 100-run mark in just 64 balls as the Knight Riders looked set to post a huge total. But, Mohammad Nabi struck for the Capitals, sending back Salt (43 off 34) who tried to up the ante. Pepper's stay in the middle also ended abruptly courtesy of a run out. The Essex batter made an excellent 72 off 49 balls as the Knight Riders seemed to have lost the momentum now.

In fact, this is the kind of opening that the Capitals needed and they made full use of it. From 122/0, the Knight Riders ended up scoring just 158/7. All the batters that came after the opening pair departed, failed to add much to the total. Notably, it was Jason Holder (22* off 11) who provided a much-needed late boost.

For the Capitals, Nabi was the standout bowler with figures of 4-0-25-3. The Afghan all-rounder was ably supported by the rest of the bowlers who staged a dramatic comeback in the second half of the innings.

The Capitals suffered an early blow in the form of Toby Albert (11 off 8). Jordan Cox (10 off 5) and wicketkeeper-batter Shayan Jahangir formed a small but effective partnership before the former edged one behind.

The next over saw the introduction of Sunil Narine and the game changed completely after that. The West Indian took the next three wickets to fall as Jahangir (8 off 6), Navin Bidaisee (7 off 10), and Gulbadin Naib (7 off 10) were victims of the spinner's guile and smarts.

The Capitals kept on losing wickets every couple of overs and the match seemed gone for them around the halfway mark. A late assault from Nabi raised a bit of hope, but Holder cut the threat short as the Knight Riders won by a big margin of 50 runs.

It was a disappointing batting performance from the Capitals which did not help their cause as they are knocked out of the race for the title. The Capitals bowlers, on the other hand, were sensational. Narine (3/12), Holder (3/18), and Liam Livingstone (3/26) helped their team storm into Qualifier 2. For his match-turning spell, Narine was declared the Player of the Match.

 The Knight Riders will now meet the MI Emirates in Sharjah on Friday, January 2.