Willey to Munro, no run, on a length outside off, Munro crunches in but it's straight to extra cover
0.4
Willey to Munro, FOUR, shot! Fuller length ball outside off,
0.3
Willey to Munro, leg byes, FOUR, easy pickings!
0.2
Willey to Hales, 1 run, pitched up ball shaping in a touch, flicked through mid-wicket for a single
0.1
Willey to Munro, 1 run, a full ball swinging down leg, clipped uppishly over square leg and Munro is off the mark
Munro and Hales are at the crease. Munro is on strike. Willey will open the attack
The players and the umpires make their way out to the middle.
Teams:
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Playing XI): Michael-Kyle Pepper, Laurie Evans, Alishan Sharafu, Andries Gous(w), Andre Russell, Imad Wasim, David Willey, Sunil Narine(c), Joshua Little, Ali Khan, Matiullah Khan
Desert Vipers (Playing XI): Rohan Mustafa, Alex Hales, Colin Munro(c), Daniel Lawrence, Adam Hose, Sherfane Rutherford, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tanish Suri(w), Mohammad Amir, Bas de Leede, Sheldon Cottrell
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders super-sub list: Sam Hain, Ravi Bopara, Marchant de Lange, Sabir Ali, Sagar Kalyan, Adhitya Shetty, Jake Lintott
Desert Vipers super-sub list: Tymal Mills, Michael Jones, Nathan Sowter, Matheesha Pathirana, Luke Wood, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan
Pitch Report: Saba Karim assesses the surface and he reckons that the wicket is hard and dry. Adds that it will be a good batting track. Mentions that pacers won’t get much assistance from this surface but the spinners can expect some help. Mentions that the straight boundaries are 80 meters while the square boundaries are 75m to his right and 66m to his left.
Colin Munro | Desert Vipers captain: We would have bowled first as well, it’s a chasing ground. We have to bat well and adapt accordingly. Shaheen is not here yet and Wood is not playing today. We welcomed the Sri Lankans yersterday, they are world class players. We are awaiting some interntational players from New Zealand as well.
Sunil Narine | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders captain: We gonna have a bowl first, it looks like a good pitch so the whole 40 overs would be the same. This year, we have new faces and hopefully, we have new luck. Hopefully, we play well. We need a collective performance from 6-7 guys continuosly to win games.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have won the toss and have opted to field
13:30 Local Time, 09:30 GMT, 15:00 IST: Hello and a warm welcome to our live coverage of the first double-header of the second season of the International T20 league. First up, the Desert Vipers will square off against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Match No. 3 in Dubai. The Vipers were the runner-ups in the inaugral edition of the tournament - they lost in the finals to the Giants but they enjoyed a largely fruitful campaign. They have retained the core of their side and have also added some exciting players to their roster. On the other hand, the Knight Riders were lackulstre last year. They only managed to win one game through the league stage and finished at the rock bottom of the points table. But, the addition of some skillful players will give them a boost. Both sides will be eager to gain some early momentum. Should be a cracker! Toss and team sheets coming up shortly...
Squads:
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Squad: Sam Hain, Laurie Evans, Joe Clarke(w), Charith Asalanka, Brandon McMullen, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine(c), Ravi Bopara, David Willey, Marchant de Lange, Joshua Little, Ali Khan, Jake Lintott, Michael-Kyle Pepper, Alishan Sharafu, Adhitya Shetty, Sabir Ali, Matiullah Khan
Desert Vipers Squad: Alex Hales, Colin Munro(c), Dinesh Chandimal(w), Adam Hose, Rohan Mustafa, Bas de Leede, Wanindu Hasaranga, Gus Atkinson, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Sheldon Cottrell, Michael Jones, Karthik Meiyappan, Aryan Lakra, Luke Wood, Matheesha Pathirana, Ali Naseer