Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates — Match 7 Preview

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates, Thursday, 26 November 2026 — evening session, Abu Dhabi

The 7th match of the DP World ILT20 Season 5 is Abu Dhabi Knight Riders against MI Emirates on Thursday, 26 November 2026, in the evening session, at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It is the evening game at a ground hosting 11 matches this season.

This is the seventh match of the season and the first in Abu Dhabi, where 11 of the season's 34 matches are played, including Qualifier 1. The Knight Riders play their first home game of the season here, after opening in Dubai on Sunday. The full scorecard will appear on this page once the match is played.

Scorecard

Match yet to begin. The scorecard appears here once the match starts.

How both sides arrive in Season 5

Pre-season — the season starts on Saturday 21 November 2026, so there is no Season 5 form yet. What follows is what each side brings into the tournament.

Jason Holder captains the Knight Riders and Dwayne Bravo coaches them, and the home crowd will expect the new leadership to change a record that has become a burden. The squad has Kane Williamson, Sunil Narine and Finn Allen, but it is the record against MI Emirates — one win from nine — that this team has to break.

Nicholas Pooran captains MI Emirates, with Mark Boucher coaching, and this is the fixture their side owns: eight wins from nine, including Qualifier 2 in January 2026 by 7 wickets. Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi lead an attack that has kept the Knight Riders quiet for four seasons.

Two points, and the first marker of the season

A win is worth two points, and a no-result is worth one. Each side plays ten league matches, and the top four reach the playoffs.

Two points are on offer, and for the Knight Riders they would be worth far more: a first win over MI Emirates since the early seasons would change how the rest of the league reads them, and it would do it in front of their own crowd. For MI Emirates, a win keeps a perfect record intact and keeps them near the top of the table.

With ten league matches per side and the top four reaching the playoffs from 16 December, home games are the ones a side must win. The Knight Riders play their home matches in Abu Dhabi, so dropping the first of them against their hardest opponent would leave them chasing the table from the second week.

The players who can decide it

Every name below links to that player's profile.

Jason Holder captains the Knight Riders and gives them balance in both disciplines. Against MI Emirates, his own performance with bat and ball will set the standard for a side trying to end a run of defeats in this fixture.

Sunil Narine opens the Knight Riders' bowling and can bat at the top if needed. His four overs against MI Emirates' powerful middle order are the spell the home side will build their defence around.

Nicholas Pooran captains MI Emirates and bats at the heart of their order. He has been central to their dominance in this fixture, and a fast start from him in Abu Dhabi would put the Knight Riders under pressure early.

Rashid Khan is the bowler the Knight Riders fear most in this fixture. His leg-spin has tied their batting down for four seasons, and surviving his four overs is the first task for the home side's batters.

Past meetings between these two sides

Nine meetings, and MI Emirates lead 8–1 — the most one-sided record in the league. The Knight Riders' only win came in January 2025, and MI Emirates have won the last three meetings, all last season: by 7 wickets, by 35 runs, and by 7 wickets in Qualifier 2.

MI Emirates lead the head-to-head 8–1 across 9 past meetings, from the 2023 season to last season.

Match information

Evening session — the exact start time has not been published, so this page lists the session only. Match yet to begin — the scorecard will appear on this page after the match.

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