England all-rounder Liam Livingstone made 76 off 48 balls to help Abu Dhabi Knight Riders inflict a first defeat on Desert Vipers with a tense one-run win in the International League T20.
After being asked to bat first, Knight Riders slipped to 9-2 with England’s Phil Salt out to the first ball of the game, before Michael Pepper fell in the next over.
Livingstone came to the crease and shared 34 with Alex Hales (25 off 18) and 68 off 59 with Alishan Sharafu.
He was happy to play second fiddle in both partnerships but Sharafu’s dismissal off the penultimate ball of the 15th over was a signal for Livingstone to go through the gears.
He made 41 off 16 balls in a stand of 68 with Sherfane Rutherford before he was dismissed from the penultimate ball of the innings as Knight Riders posted 181-5.
Vipers, who had already confirmed their place in the knockouts with a six-game winning streak to start the group phase, made a positive start with Max Holden and Fakhar Zaman sharing 97 for the first wicket.
However, both fell in quick succession and Vipers still needed 68 from 36 balls.
Hasan Nawaz and Sam Curran hit three sixes to keep Vipers in touch but both were dismissed alongside Shimron Hetmyer to leave last year’s beaten finalists 152-5 in the 18th over.
Khuzaima Bin Tanveer hit a six from the final ball of that over to leave 18 needed from 12 balls but West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell conceded just five from the 19th over.
Ajay Kumar started the final over with an above waist height no-ball that was also hit for four by Dan Lawrence, reducing the equation to nine needed off six.
However, he recovered brilliantly and conceded three from the next three balls.
He then had Tanveer caught at deep mid-wicket, before conceding two from the fifth ball to leave three needed from the last ball.
Tom Bruce missed a slower ball and Vipers could only scramble a bye to finish one run short and suffer their first defeat.
Despite the win, Knight Riders remain bottom of the table on net run-rate, but they are now one of four teams on four points.
