IPL star worth Rs 13 crore failed, retired player changed the game and won the match

International League T20 2025-26: In the DP World International League T20 (ILT20) 2025-26 season, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) registered their second consecutive win by defeating Gulf Giants by 4 wickets in a thrilling match. This match was played in Abu Dhabi, where experienced Indian leg spinner Piyush Chawla did wonders with his spin and led the team to victory. But in this match, a star player of IPL proved to be a flop, on whom a bid of Rs 13 crore was made during the recent mini auction.

Piyush Chawla’s spin changed the match

Batting first in the match, Gulf Giants scored 165 runs losing 7 wickets in 20 overs on the basis of Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s brilliant innings of 72 runs in 45 balls. The team had a good start, but Chawla’s magic stopped the Giants’ pace in the middle overs. Chawla dismissed James Vince on his very first ball, then dismissed Moeen Ali on a googly and later sent Azmatullah Omarzai and Matthew Ford to the pavilion on consecutive balls. Piyush Chawla took these 4 wickets for just 27 runs, due to which the Giants were seen struggling in the last overs. This brilliant bowling of Piyush Chawla proved to be the turning point of the match for ADKR.

13 crore star player was a flop

In reply, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders had a explosive start. Phil Salt and Alex Hales scored runs quickly in the powerplay. Hales played brilliant innings of 46 runs and Salt played brilliant innings of 35 runs. But in the middle, Tabrez Shamsi made the match interesting by taking 3 wickets and at one time Abu Dhabi Knight Riders came under pressure after scoring 138 runs for 5 wickets in 17 overs. Which also included the wicket of Liam Livingston, who was out after scoring only 12 runs in 8 balls. But the explosive batting of Sherfane Rutherford and Andre Russell took the team to victory.

With this victory, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders team also reached top-4 in the points table. The team has played 7 matches so far and has won 3 matches. At the same time, Gulf Giants had to face their fourth defeat of the season. Gulf Giants have also won 3 out of 7 matches so far.