MI Emirates vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders — Match 13 Preview

MI Emirates vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Monday, 30 November 2026 — evening session at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Match 13 of 34 in ILT20 Season 5. Second meeting of the season — the sides already met in match 7 on 26 november.

The 13th match of the MI Emirates season is an evening session at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday, 30 November 2026. It is the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders first home game of the week, and the second meeting between these sides in Season 5 — they already met in Match 7 on 26 November, so there is no feeling-out period left.

By this point MI Emirates have played four league matches and the Knight Riders three, so the table is starting to take shape rather than merely being a list of names. A win here is worth two points, with one point each if the match has no result, and the top four at the end of the 30-match league stage reach the playoffs.

The exact start time has not been confirmed, so this page lists the evening session only. The scorecard will appear here 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 picture only — Season 5 has no results to rank yet, so this is what each squad brings into the game.

MI Emirates are the 2024 champions, runners-up in January, now coached by Mark Boucher and captained by Nicholas Pooran. Their squad pairs Pooran with Jonny Bairstow and Kusal Perera at the top, Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi with the ball, and Romario Shepherd and Sherfane Rutherford as the finishers. It is a side built to win tight games, and their record against the Knight Riders says they usually do.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are still without an ILT20 title after four seasons, with Jason Holder captaining and Dwayne Bravo coaching. Their squad leans on experience: Kane Williamson, Sunil Narine, Moeen Ali and Colin Munro have all won major T20 titles elsewhere, and Finn Allen gives them a fast start at the top. The question is whether that experience turns into a first win over MI Emirates in nearly two years.

The points on offer and the playoff race

Match 13 of 30 league games. The top four qualify for the playoffs.

This is the point of the season where early points stop being a bonus and start being a cushion. MI Emirates have already played four matches; a fifth game without a win would leave them chasing the table for the rest of the league stage. The Knight Riders, with three games behind them, can ill afford to lose a home fixture to a direct rival for a top-four place.

The wider picture: the league stage runs to 14 December, then Qualifier 1 on Wednesday 16 December in Abu Dhabi, the Eliminator on Thursday 17 December in Dubai, Qualifier 2 on Friday 18 December in Sharjah and the final on Sunday 20 December in Dubai. Every one of the 30 league matches carries the same two points, so a November win counts exactly as much as a December one.

The players who can decide it

Every name below links to that player's profile. Squads are as announced for Season 5.

Nicholas Pooran captains MI Emirates and is the batter the Knight Riders have to dismiss early. He leads a side that has beaten them eight times in nine meetings, and his own keeping-batting combination means he is involved in the game even when the bat stays quiet.

Rashid Khan is the bowler Abu Dhabi's batters will plan around. His four overs in the middle of the innings are where MI Emirates usually squeeze a game, and against a Knight Riders top order that likes to attack, his control matters more than his wickets alone.

Jason Holder captains the Knight Riders and coaches' plans run through him with bat and ball. His side has lost eight of nine against MI Emirates, so the captain's own performance — and his calls in the field — carry more weight than usual in this fixture.

Sunil Narine gives the Knight Riders a genuine point of difference: an opener who can take the game away in the powerplay and a bowler who can bowl four quiet overs. If he fires at the top of the order, the head-to-head record starts to look like old news.

MI Emirates lead 8–1

MI Emirates have won eight of the nine meetings between these sides, across all four previous seasons. The Knight Riders' only win came in 2024; every other meeting, including the most recent two, has gone the same way.

The last two meetings were both in the 2025-26 season: MI Emirates won Match 21 on 20 December 2025 by 35 runs, then won Qualifier 2 on 2 January 2026 by 7 wickets — the game that ended the Knight Riders' campaign. Abu Dhabi's side has not beaten MI Emirates since 2024, and this home game is their first chance to change that in Season 5.

Match information

Evening session — the exact start time has not been confirmed. Match yet to begin — the scorecard will appear on this page after the match.

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