The much-awaited International League T20 (ILT20) 2023 started with a Dubai Capitals versus Abu Dhabi Knight Riders game at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The Capitals began their journey on a high note as they dominated the contest with both bat and ball, thrashing the Knight Riders by 73 runs. Captals’ captain Rovman Powell was the star of the night with his outstanding all-round performance.
From big sixes to remarkable bowling, there were many memorable moments in the game, but one incident that captured the maximum eyeballs was Sunil Narine‘s dismissal of Robin Uthappa with an absolute beauty.
It all happened during the 12th over of Capitals’ innings when the Knight Rider skipper came over the wicket and bowled his typical seam-up delivery that moved away sharply after pitching on the middle.
Uthappa played the wrong line, and the white leather went on to click the top of the off-stump’s bail. The Indian batter was stunned by the delivery as he stood there for a while. After a few seconds, Uthappa decided to walk back upon watching the replays and realising that Narine cleaned him up with a sensational delivery.
Here is the video:
What a beauty 😍
Robin Uthappa was stunned by that delivery from Sunil Narine.
BT Sport 1 | @ILT20Official pic.twitter.com/gv9sAyRkrP
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) January 13, 2023
Speaking about the contest, Capitals posted a massive 187/6 on the board after the Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field. Uthappa (43), Powell (48), Joe Root (26) and Sikandar Raza (26) chipped in with valuable contributions to guide the Capitals to a big total.
In response, the Knight Riders could only manage to get 114/9, losing the game by 73 runs. Opener Paul Stirling smashed a brilliant 54 off 38 deliveries but didn’t get any support whatsoever from the rest of batters. Apart from the Ireland star, only Andre Russell (12) could score in double figures.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Akif Raja and Powell bagged wickets at regular intervals to trigger a batting collapse of the Knight Riders. While Rahman bagged 2 for 16 in his quota of 4 overs, Raja (2/20) and Powell (2/15) picked up two wickets each.
