Gulf Giants thrashed Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by six wickets in their opening match of the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, January 15.

The Giants rode on three-wicket hauls from fast bowlers Sanchit Sharma and Chris Jordan to restrict the Knight Riders to just 114/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, captain James Vince smashed a brilliant fifty (65), along with contributions from Ollie Pope (18) and Shimron Hetmyer (13 not out) helped the Giants chase down the target in 14.1 overs to register their first win in ILT20.

Earlier, Knight Riders captain Sunil Narine won the toss and elected to bat first. The Giants made a dominating start with the ball as young right-arm pacer Sanchit Sharma dismissed opener Colin Ingram (7), Brandon King (4) and Connor Esterhuizen (0) in his first three overs to reduce the Knight Riders to 24/3 in 5.2 overs.

The Giants’ bowling unit continued to pile more pressure on the Knight Riders as they bagged wickets at regular intervals.

While Giants’ left-arm spinner Liam Dawson removed Paul Stirling for run-a-ball 20, the 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed trapped Akeal Hosein in front of the stumps to put the hosts on the backfoot.

Giants' pacer Chris Jordan later cleaned up Knight Riders’ star all-rounder Andre Russell for 25 and followed it up by dismissing Ali Khan (6) and Zawar Farid (19) to restrict the Knight Riders to a below-par total.

Chasing 115 for the win, the Giants made a surprising move by promoting Rehan Ahmed to open the innings with captain James Vince. The duo forged a 19-run opening stand before Ahmed departed for 7.

Meanwhile, Ollie Pope joined skipper Vince at the crease. Both the England batters played some eye-catching shots to stitch a scintillating partnership.

Vince later smashed Akeal Hosein over the bowler's head for a six in the ninth over to bring up his 51st fifty in his illustrious T20 career.  The 31-year-old was later dismissed by Narine for a well-made 44-ball 65.

Later in the 12th over, while the Giants lost Ollie Pope and Gerhard Erasmus (1) in quick succession, the visitors held their nerves to chase down the target with 5.5 overs to spare. 

With a convincing victory under their belt, the Giants will lock horns with Dubai Capitals in their second match of the tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday, January 16.