Former West Indies captain Rovman Powell sent Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team management a reminder of his batting prowess with an unbeaten 96 for Dubai Capitals against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ABKR) in ILT20 2025 clash on December 7. Powell's belligerent knock, followed by a clinical bowling display helped Capitals bowl out Jason Holder-led Knight Riders for 103 in the 16th over and win the match by 83 runs.
Holder won the toss and opted to bowl fist at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Capitals' top-order failed to make a mark. They were 45/3 in the seventh over. Powell and Jordan Cox steadied the ship and then accelerated in the middle overs. In the 16th over, both Cox and Powelll reached their respective fifties.
In the penultimate over, Holder broke the partnership with Cox's wicket. The Englishman scored 52 runs from 36 balls, including four fours and a six. In the final, Powell targeted Russell, hitting him for two sixes and two fours each. Russell's last two deliveries denied Powell his maiden ILT20 century. But his knock took Capitals to 186/4. Powell hit eight fours and four sixes in his knock.
In the run chase, Knight Riders were troubled by two left-arm pacers -- David Willey and Mustafizur Rahman. They lost three wickets for just 10 runs from two overs. The required run rate kept climbing up. Afghan spinners Waqar Salamkheil and Mohammad Nabi caused a collapse. Till the time time Russell arrived at the crease, it was too late. Salamkheil picked up a four-fer as Knight Riders were bowled out for 103 in 15.3 overs. Willey, Rahman and Nabi picked up two wickets apiece.
Powell was named 'Player of the match'. He lauded Cox for the 119-run partnership between them.
“I think the way I batted the spinners, they have two quality spinners, Narine and Chawla, two world-class spinners. It's important when I went to bat that I fight them off and just not bat a lot of dot balls, just keep ticking over. And, once I did that batting the fast bowlers would come natural,” Powell said in the post-match presentation
“Cox was very, very helpful. We just didn't want to get stuck in the middle or get stagnant. We always wanted to turn over the strike. We didn't want Narine or Chawla to keep bowling at one player. We wanted to rotate the strike and we think that was our best way to bat against two world-class spinners like them,” he added.
More game time for Powell in IPL 2026?
Powell has been retained by KKR ahead of IPL 2026 mini-auction. In last year’s mega auction, he was roped in for Rs his base price of Rs 1.5 crore, considerably lower than what Rajasthan Royals (RR) had paid (Rs 7.4 crore) to acquire his services the season before.
However, with the presence of Russell, Moeen Ali, Powell got to play just two matches. In one innings, he walked out to bat and scored just five runs. With Russell retired and Ali released, he may get more chances in the upcoming season.