Franchise Cricket

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Nicholas Pooran made an unbeaten 69 to secure MI Emirates' place in the International League T20 play-offs with an eight-wicket win over Gulf Giants.

Chasing 142, MI slipped to 2-2 with England's Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton dismissed in the first 10 balls of the innings.

That brought Pooran to the crease and the West Indies batter hit six fours and three sixes in his 69-ball knock.

He put on an unbroken 140 with Muhammad Waseem (59 not out off 42 balls) as MI secured a fourth successive victory with 21 balls to spare.

Giants posted 141-6 in their 20 overs, recovering from 49-4 thanks to 51 off 48 balls by former England all-rounder Moeen Ali.

The win gives MI a four-point cushion in second, although they can still be overtaken and lose the chance to have two opportunities to reach the final.

They join Desert Vipers, who have already secured top spot, in the final four.

The defeat leaves Giants fourth - the final play-off spot - and their final game against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on 28 December could be a straight shootout for qualification.

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Melbourne Stars moved to the top of the Big Bash League table with a comfortable six-wicket win over Adelaide Strikers.

Chasing 156, Stars won with 11 balls to spare with Marcus Stoinis unbeaten on 32 off 22 balls and Hilton Cartwright 10 not out.

Their chase was set up by 55 from Sam Harper, who shared 67 with Joe Clarke (23) for the opening wicket.

Strikers posted 155-8 after being asked to bat with captain Matt Short top-scoring with 56 off 42 balls at the top of the order.

They were well positioned at 110-3 in the 14th over when Tom Curran, who finished with 3-35, came back to dismiss Short.

From there Strikers struggled for any late-innings momentum, with Pakistan's Haris Rauf picking up 3-28.

Stars are top of the table with two wins in two games, while Strikers are sixth after suffering their first defeat.

The Big Bash now takes a two-day break, with matches resuming on 26 December.

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Sharjah Warriorz beat Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by four wickets off the final ball of an enthralling International League T20 match as the play-off race heats up.

Chasing 135 to win, the Warriorz needed 12 off the final over, bowled by former West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell.

English batter James Rew ramped the first delivery for four and Russell, appearing to be hampered by an ankle injury, conceded a no-ball and a wide.

But the Warriorz still needed one off the final ball and England spinner Adil Rashid managed to squeeze his shot wide enough of cover to scamper the single required.

Somerset wicketkeeper Rew finished unbeaten on 42 from 29 balls.

The Knight Riders posted 134-9 after electing to bat at their home Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The hosts slumped to 10-4, with openers Phil Salt and Alex Hales falling cheaply before Liam Livingstone made a duck.

West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford hit 44 off 36 to give the Knight Riders some hope, while Rashid took an impressive 3-18, but it proved to be just not enough.

The top four sides in the six-team table will qualify for the play-offs.

The Warriorz remain bottom, on six points, behind the Knight Riders in fifth and Gulf Giants in fourth, who both also have six points but superior net run-rates.

Knight Riders only have one match left to play - against Gulf Giants, who have two to go, as do the Warriorz.

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Sydney Thunder secured their first win of the Big Bash League season with a 34-run victory over Brisbane Heat.

After being put into bat at Canberra's Manuka Oval, the Thunder posted 193-4.

Australia opener Sam Konstas made 63 off 45 balls and Matthew Gilkes hit 76 off 48 as they put on 127 for the first wicket.

England's Sam Billings added 25 off 11 to help push the Thunder towards a challenging total.

Despite chasing a BBL record 258 to beat Perth Scorchers on Friday, this time the Heat batters failed to fire as they could only reach 159-6 off their 20 overs.

The centurions from their staggering chase - Jack Wildermuth and Matt Renshaw - were both bowled by Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan for 14 and 43 respectively.

All-rounder Shadab finished with impressive figures of 4-24.

Victory moves Thunder above Heat into sixth on net run-rate. Both sides have won one and lost two of their opening three matches.

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MI Emirates edged past Desert Vipers to claim a four-wicket win and close on the International League T20 play-offs.

Chasing 125, MI were 21-0 and 51-2 but lost England's Tom Banton and West Indies' Nicholas Pooran to slip to 53-4 and add jeopardy to the chase.

Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Shakib Al Hasan shared 26 for the fifth wicket, but the former was dismissed by Matiullah Khan to leave MI 79-5 in the 13th over.

However, West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard smashed 26 off 15 balls to put MI in control and move to within 187 runs of Chris Gayle's runs record.

He was dismissed with 13 needed off four overs but Shakib and Romario Shepherd saw MI over the line with 15 balls to spare.

Vipers, who have already guaranteed a play-off spot after starting with six successive wins, posted 124-7, with England's Dan Lawrence top-scoring with 35 not out.

The win sees MI climb up to second and a win in either of their final two group games will confirm their progression. Vipers remain top.

Sunday's early game saw Dubai Capitals beat Gulf Giants by six wickets to move third.

Chasing 157, they were 35-2 and 66-3 but Shayan Jahangir and Rovman Powell shared 42 for the fourth wicket, before Powell put on an unbroken 54 with Mohammad Nabi as Capitals won with four balls to spare.

Giants, who sit fourth, were bowled out for 156 from the penultimate ball of their innings, with Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman claiming 3-34.

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Chris Jordan starred as defending champions Hobart Hurricanes thrashed Melbourne Renegades by seven wickets in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 146, Hurricanes lost Mitch Owen first ball but then took control of the chase with positive cricket.

Tim Ward fell in the fourth over to leave Hurricanes 38-2 but Nikhil Chaudhary, who made 79, shared 93 with Ben McDermott for the third wicket.

Chaudhary was dismissed with 15 required but McDermott (49* off 33) and Tim David got Hurricanes over the line with 37 balls to spare.

Earlier, former England bowler Jordan claimed 4-19 as Renegades posted 145-9.

Jordan bowled New Zealand's Tim Seifert (34) in the ninth over before returning to claim Hassan Khan, Will Sutherland and Fergus O'Neill at the death.

England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed also picked up the key wicket of Muhammad Rizwan, bowling the Pakistan wicketkeeper for 32.

The win moves Hurricanes to the top of the table, while Renegades are seventh are suffering their first defeat.

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MI Emirates boosted their International League T20 play-off chances and dealt a blow to Abu Dhabi Knight Riders with a dominant 35-run win.

After being put into bat, Emirates posted 187-4, with former West Indies wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran hitting an unbeaten 40 off 24 balls.

England batters Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton each made 38 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Chasing 188 to win, the Knight Riders were 96-1 in the 10th over before former England opener Alex Hales was dismissed for 40 off 27.

That sparked a collapse to 128-7, with the hosts going 53 balls without a boundary at one stage.

Despite Scotland's Brandon McMullen hitting an unbeaten 64 off 49, the Knight Riders could only reach 152-7, with Zahoor Khan taking

The result moves MI Emirates up to second on eight points, six points behind already-qualified leaders Desert Vipers.

The Knight Riders are fifth, with the top four sides reaching the play-offs. They are level on points with Dubai Capitals and Gulf Giants in third and fourth respectively but have played a game more and have an inferior net run-rate.

Vipers beat bottom-placed Sharjah Warriorz by four wickets later on Saturday in Dubai after bowling the Warriorz out for just 90.

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The Sixers beat the Thunder by 47 runs in the Sydney derby to register their first win of the 2025-26 Big Bash League.

Sixers wicketkeeper Josh Philippe smashed 96 off 57 balls and Pakistan batter Babar Azam made 58 off 42 to help their side post 198-5 at Thunder's Engie Stadium.

Philippe looked set for his first T20 century only to pick out Daniel Sams at deep backward point off Nathan McAndrew in the final over, with the third umpire confirming the low catch was clean.

Having elected to bowl first, the Thunder slipped to 17-3 and 45-5 in their chase of 199 and never looked like threatening the Sixers' total.

England wicketkeeper Sam Billings smacked 51 off 28 before he was dismissed by Sixers seamer Jack Edwards, who took 5-26, with the Thunder bowled out for 151 off 19.1 overs.

After starting with two consecutive defeats, the Sixers are now up to third in the eight-team table, while the Thunder are bottom after two losses in two.

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Dubai Capitals comfortably beat Sharjah Warriorz by 63 runs to move up to second in the International League T20 table.

After being put into bat in Sharjah, the Capitals posted 180-6, with opener Sediqullah Atal hitting 66 off 44 balls, fellow Afghanistan international Mohammad Nabi making an unbeaten 38 and England's Jordan Cox adding 28.

Bottom-placed Warriorz never got going in their chase of 181, despite Somerset's James Rew making 47 off 38.

The hosts crumbled to 117 all out off 17 overs, with Nabi taking 3-23 - including the wicket of Rew to end the match - and Afghanistan left-arm spinner Waqar Salamkheil claiming 3-22.

The Capitals started the match fifth in the six-team table but are now second on net run-rate after seven matches, trailing leaders Desert Vipers by six points.

Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are also all on six points, with the Warriorz last on four.

Each side plays 10 matches in the league stage, with the top four progressing to the play-offs.

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