Franchise Cricket

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Melbourne Renegades opener Tim Seifert hit the first century of the 2025-26 Big Bash League to help his side beat Brisbane Heat by 14 runs.

New Zealand international Seifert clattered nine fours and six sixes in making 102 off 56 balls after the Renegades were put into bat at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong.

The Renegades were 82-3 in the 10th over before Seifert put on a stand of 121 with 19-year-old Australian Ollie Peake - who made 57 off 29 - leading their side to post 212-5.

Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was removed from the attack by the umpires shortly after Seifert reached his hundred for bowling two balls above waist height in the same over.

Chasing 213 to win, Heat opener Colin Munro smacked 55 off 32, but wickets fell around him, with Brisbane slipping to 108-6 off 13 overs shortly after Munro was dismissed.

An onslaught by Jimmy Peirson, who hit 50 off 22, and Hugh Weibgen (38 not out off 20) helped Heat threaten an unlikely win, but Peirson's dismissal by Renegades captain Will Sutherland in the 19th over ensured they fell short on 198-8.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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England's Sam Curran made an unbeaten 52 off 33 balls to extend Desert Vipers winning start to six matches with a five-wicket victory over Dubai Capitals in the International League T20.

Chasing 167, Vipers were 53-2 when Curran came to the crease and he shared partnerships of 32 with Hasan Nawaz (31 off 17) and Dan Lawrence (20 off 15) and 47 with Shimron Hetmyer (18 off 17).

Vipers needed three from the final over but lost Hetmyer on the first ball but Curran won the game with a six off the fourth ball.

It secured history for Vipers as the first team to win their opening six games.

Capitals, who sit third with two wins in five games, had posted 166-4 with Leus du Plooy making 54 off 44 balls and England's Jordan Cox an unbeaten 49 off 30.

Sunday's other game saw Sharjah Warriorz beat MI Emirates by six runs to record their first win.

MI needed 175 to win and made a positive start with Muhammad Waseem (44 off 29) and Jonny Bairstow (31 off 23) sharing 68 for the opening wicket.

However, they suffered a middle-over collapse and slipped to 101-5 with Sikandar Raza and Junaid Siddique both claiming two wickets.

Nicholas Pooran settled the ship but they needed 25 from the last over and, despite three sixes, fell short.

Warriorz earlier posted 174-3 with Johnson Charles making 77 off 53 balls.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Cooper Connolly fired 59 in 31 balls to help Perth Scorchers to a five-wicket victory over Sydney Sixers in the opening match of the Big Bash League in Australia.

Rain delayed the start and the match at Perth's Optus Stadium was reduced to 11 overs.

Pakistan's Babar Azam made his BBL debut for the Sixers, but the opener struggled on a bouncy surface and only managed two before being caught by Laurie Evans off Brody Couch.

Fast bowler Couch, who took 2-12 from his two overs, also removed Sixers wicketkeeper Josh Philippe for 28 to help reduce the visitors to 41-4.

Jack Edwards hit an unbeaten 46 from 21 deliveries - firing two sixes in his eight boundaries - to help Sixers post 113-5.

Connolly came to the crease with the Scorchers 0-1 after Mitch Marsh's third-ball duck, but while wickets fell at the opposite end at regular intervals, he took the game away from the Sixers with some heavy hitting, firing five sixes and three fours.

The 22-year-old, who helped the Scorchers to the 2023 BBL title in his first season, finally fell to Ben Dwarshuis with his side needing nine runs to win from nine balls.

But the hosts eventually clinched victory with five balls to spare, finishing on 117-5.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Shayan Jahangir's 99 off 54 balls helped Dubai Capitals to a nervy nine-run win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the International League T20.

Capitals wicketkeeper Jahangir struck 10 fours and five sixes but the USA international agonisingly fell one run short of a maiden T20 century when he was bowled by Andre Russell in the final over.

England batter Jordan Cox made 29 and West Indies international Rovman Powell hit four sixes in his unbeaten 38 off 24 to help the Capitals post 196-5 off their 20 overs at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The Knight Riders were miles behind in the chase until former West Indies all-rounder Russell started an onslaught. Keeping hold of the strike, he needed 26 off the final over and got the equation down to 11 required off the last three balls.

But Capitals left-arm fast bowler Muhammad Jawadullah just about held his nerve as Russell, who finished unbeaten on 53 off 33, could not find the fence again, with the Knight Riders closing on 187-8.

England opener Phil Salt was the next highest scorer for Abu Dhabi, with 33 off 29, while Afghanistan left-arm wrist-spinner Waqar Salamkheil took 3-34.

The Capitals move up to third in the six-team league after their second victory, while the Knight riders remain fifth, having now lost four matches in a row.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Sam Curran cracked an unbeaten 67 off 43 balls as Desert Vipers claimed an eight-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in the International League T20.

The Giants had batted first but were soon in trouble at 67-5 with skipper James Vince among those to fall cheaply.

Liam Dawson added some respectability to their total after he top scored with an unbeaten 38 from 14 balls, including three sixes.

Khuzaima Tanveer finished the pick of the Vipers bowling with 4-10 ably supported by Curran (1-27) and Noor Ahmad (2-22) but a total of 157-7 did not look particularly daunting.

Chris Wood removed Vipers opener Fakhar Zaman for 14 while Hasan Nawaz made just seven but at 35-2 Curran and Max Holden took the game to the Giants' attack.

Curran clubbed five fours and three sixes in an aggressive knock as he top scored for the Vipers, while Holden finished on 64 not out off 41 balls as they cruised home with 19 balls to spare.

The Vipers have now won five consecutive matches on the bounce and are top of the standings with 10 points while the Giants stay second on six points.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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The 15th edition of Australia's men's Big Bash League starts on Sunday, immediately after the women's competition ends on Saturday.

The T20 franchise tournament clashes with Australia's home Test summer as usual and will run until 25 January.

There are 44 matches in total - 40 in the group stage and four in the knockouts.

Eight teams are taking part: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.

Hobart Hurricanes are the defending champions after beating Sydney Thunder by seven wickets in last year's final.

The eight sides play each other twice in the group stage, with the top four progressing to the knockouts, which work as follows:

20 January - Qualifier: First v second (08:15 GMT)

21 January - Knockout: Third v fourth (08:15 GMT)

23 January - Challenger: Loser of Qualifier v winner of Knockout (08:15 GMT)

25 January - Final: Winner of Qualifier v winner of Challenger (08:15 GMT)

• Full Big Bash League 2025-26 fixtures and schedule

Listen to commentary on selected Big Bash matches on BBC Sounds.

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Fast bowler Luke Wood and all-rounders Jamie Overton and Rehan Ahmed are among 13 English players set to feature in the Big Bash League.

All three were in England's squad for their last T20 series against New Zealand and will look to use the tournament to boost their chances of being included for February's T20 World Cup.

Overton returns to Adelaide Strikers and is joined by Wood, who previously played for Melbourne Stars in the 2022-23 season.

Ahmed will make his Big Bash debut with defending champions Hobart Hurricanes, who have also signed Chris Jordan.

All-rounder Sam Curran will also look to boost his World Cup hopes when he joins Sydney Sixers once the International League T20 finishes. He should be available for four to six group matches and the knockout stages.

Left-arm seamer Reece Topley has signed as a temporary replacement for New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson at Sydney Thunder and will represent them before going to play in the SA20.

English players involved in Big Bash 2025-26

Adelaide Strikers: Jamie Overton and Luke Wood

Brisbane Heat: Tom Alsop

Hobart Hurricanes: Rehan Ahmed and Chris Jordan

Melbourne Stars: Joe Clarke and Tom Curran

Perth Scorchers: Laurie Evans and David Payne

Sydney Sixers: Sam Curran and Jafer Chohan

Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings and Reece Topley

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Pakistan duo Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are set to make their debuts in the Big Bash League, alongside a host of Australia and overseas stars.

Batter Babar will play for Sydney Sixers, while left-arm quick Shaheen has been signed by Brisbane Heat.

Compatriots Shadab Khan (Sydney Thunder), Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars) and Hasan Ali (Adelaide Strikers) are also among the standout overseas names.

Australia white-ball stars Tim David and Nathan Ellis (both Hobart Hurricanes), Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis (both Stars), plus David Warner and Sam Konstas (both Sydney Thunder) are set to feature in the whole tournament.

The availability of Steve Smith (Sixers), Travis Head (Strikers) and Mitchell Starc (Sixers) and the rest of Australia's Ashes players is set to be decided once the series against England ends in early January.

Seamer Josh Hazlewood will likely miss the tournament as he recovers from injury, while Pat Cummins is not registered with a side.

India's Ravichandran Ashwin was also set to make his tournament debut but had to withdrawn due to a knee injury.

Selected non-England players involved in Big Bash 2025-26

Adelaide Strikers: Hasan Ali, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Matt Short, Chris Lynn

Brisbane Heat: Shaheen Afridi, Colin Munro, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw

Hobart Hurricanes: Rishad Hossain, Nathan Ellis, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Matthew Wade

Melbourne Renegades: Hassan Khan, Muhammad Rizwan, Tim Seifert, Jason Behrendorff, Brendan Dogged, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa

Melbourne Stars: Haris Rauf, Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stones, Mitch Swepson

Perth Scorchers: Finn Allen, Ashton Agar, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Mitch Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner

Sydney Sixers: Babar Azam, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

Sydney Thunder: Shadab Khan, Lockie Ferguson, David Warner, Sam Konstas, Tanveer Sangha, Cameron Bancroft

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Jonny Bairstow struck an unbeaten 49 as MI Emirates raced to a seven-wicket victory against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in International League T20.

Bairstow's side reached their target of 123 inside 14 overs, with the England international hitting seven fours in his 38-ball innings.

The Emirates opener added 64 with Tom Banton (29), while Kamindu Mendis (10) ended the encounter with a match-winning six.

The Knight Riders opening partnership of Phil Salt (17) and Alex Hales (6) failed to fire after being put into bat, while United Arab Emirates batter Alishan Sharafu top-scored with 38.

Liam Livingstone was caught by Banton off the bowling of Mendis (3-21) for just two, while Emirates lost their last five wickets for 12 runs.

Three of the tail fell to Afghanistan seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, who finished with figures of 4-14 and whose dismissal of Ajay Kumar saw the Knight Riders bowled out for 122 with three balls to spare.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Beth Mooney's 72 led Perth Scorchers to an 11-run victory in the eliminator match against Sydney Sixers, securing them a place in the Women's Big Bash League final.

Scorchers will face Hobart Hurricanes on Saturday after Mooney's 66-run opening partnership with Katie Mack (40) set-up a first innings score of 183-8, having been put into bat at the North Sydney Oval.

Mack was caught by Lauren Cheatle in the eighth over off the bowling of Ash Gardner and after that Mooney anchored the Scorchers effort.

The Australia international hit 11 fours and one six in a 44-ball innings while wickets fell around her, with Paige Scholfield (14) the third-highest scorer for the Perth side.

Mooney was finally dismissed in the 19th over, the sixth batter to fall when she was trapped lbw by Darcie Brown, before Gardner returned to remove Alana King and Lilly Mills in the final over and secure figures of 3-25.

King starred for the Scorchers in the second innings, first breaking an opening stand of 58 between England's Sophia Dunkley and Ellyse Perry by having the latter caught by Ruby Strange for 29.

Chloe Ainsworth bowled Australia captain Alyssa Healy for just one before Strange removed Dunkley for 40, as Sixers lost two wickets in the space of five balls to find themselves 74-3 in the 10th over.

Australia leg-spinner King, on the way to figures of 3-17, then had the dangerous Gardner caught by Sophie Devine for 26 and Darcie Brown stumped by Mooney for 14.

Melie Kerr made 42 from 29 to offer Sixers some hope, but the New Zealand all-rounder was caught by Maddy Darke off the second ball of Mills' final over as Sixers closed on 172-6 to miss out on a place in the final.

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Sharjah Warriorz remain winless in the International League T20 after they lost by six wickets to Gulf Giants.

The tournament's bottom side have now lost their opening three fixtures, with Giants chasing down a target of 159 with two balls to spare.

Opener Johnson Charles and Dwaine Pretorius were joint top-scorers for the defeated side, each making 36, and the latter put on an unbroken stand of 38 with Adil Rashid as Warriorz closed on 157-6 having been put into bat.

United Arab Emirates spinner Aayan Afzal Khan took 3-17 for Giants, picking up the wickets of Charles, Kusal Mendis (23) and the big-hitting Tim David (19).

In reply, the second-placed side looked to be cruising to victory, with James Vince (35) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz putting on 78 for the first wicket.

By the time Vince was caught by Wasim Akram off Sikandar Raza, Giants were almost half-way to their target in the eighth over, but from that point their scoring slowed.

Rashid bowled his podcast co-host and former international team-mate Moeen Ali for 14, while Gurbaz's input ended on a 36-ball 50 when he was removed by Raza.

Azmatullah Omarzai (28) and Gerhard Erasmus (15 not out) then worked steadily towards their target, and while the former was caught in Tim Southee's final over, Sean Dickson hit the winning run two balls later.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson are among 18 England internationals on the longlist for this year's Indian Premier League auction, but Ben Stokes and Harry Brook will not be involved.

Stokes and Brook were unable to enter for the 2026 season having skipped last year's mega auction.

Batter Duckett and wicketkeeper Smith, regulars in England's white-ball sides but currently part of the struggling Ashes campaign, have not previously played in the IPL.

Bowler Atkinson was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 but withdrew prior to the tournament to manage his workload.

All three are registered at the highest base price of 200 lakh rupees (£167,000).

All-rounder Liam Livingstone, who won the title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru last year but was released, is also in the most expensive bracket.

Jordan Cox and fellow wicketkeeper Tom Banton, pace bowler Josh Tongue and veteran Jonny Bairstow are among the other England players registered.

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, South Africans David Miller and Quinton de Kock, India batter Venkatesh Iyer and New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra are some of the other leading players involved.

The auction takes place on Tuesday, 16 December with 77 slots available across the 10 squads, including 31 for overseas players.

The participation of eight England players, including Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler, has already been confirmed following the retention and trade window.

• View full IPL shortlist, external

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Desert Vipers continued their unbeaten start to the International League T20, beating MI Emirates by just one run in a dramatic finish.

Chasing 160, Muhammad Waseem (24), Tom Banton (34) and Nicholas Pooran (31) set a solid platform for Emirates before Kieron Pollard (23) and Tajinder Singh (17 from seven deliveries) upped the pace to leave their side needing 18 runs from the last 15 balls of the innings.

However, fortune turned dramatically in Vipers' favour as they took four wickets for two runs in the space of nine deliveries, with David Payne finishing on 4-29 after three batters fell in his 19th over.

Needing 12 from the last three balls, Rashid Khan hit a six and saw a four go through the wicketkeeper's legs to bring Emirates back into contention.

But he failed to find a winning two off Khuzaima Bin Tanveer's last delivery of the innings and was run out by wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind.

The result means Vipers' unbeaten streak extends to four matches, while Emirates have won one and lost two of their first three fixtures.

Having put Vipers into bat, Emirates didn't take a wicket until the 11th over, when Fakhar Zaman was caught by Banton off Allah Ghazanfar for 35.

The opener departed with his side on 90-1, having put on 51 with Max Holden after Andries Gous retired hurt on 21.

Holden top-scored for Vipers with a steady 42 from 37 deliveries, but was retired out with four overs to go, one ball after Pooran had decided not to complete an easy stumping to dismiss the English batter.

Compatriots Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence made 19 and 15 not out respectively as Vipers closed on 159-4.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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An opening stand of 107 between Beth Mooney and Katie Mack helped Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs in the Women's Big Bash League knockout match.

Mack hit 52 while Mooney added 45 as Scorchers secured a place in Thursday's eliminator fixture against Sydney Sixers, with the winner progressing to Saturday's final against Hobart Hurricanes.

The opening duo fell within seven balls of one another to leave Scorchers 109-2, while Sophie Devine was removed for just one after being caught by Meg Lanning off Rhys McKenna's bowling.

Scorchers rallied again, with Freya Kemp hitting 35 from 19 balls and Maddy Darke finishing unbeaten with 16 from five deliveries as the 2021 champions closed on 173-5.

In their reply, Stars lost McKenna to a run-out in the third over, but Meg Lanning (49) and Amy Jones (43) put on 87 for the second wicket to give their side a solid position.

However, Jones was stumped by Mooney off an Alana King delivery in the 13th over, and that started a Stars collapse, losing eight wickets for 44 runs.

Seven batters, including England's Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson, were dismissed for single figures, with King, Devine and Lilly Mills taking two wickets apiece as Stars finished short of their target on 145-9.

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Dan Lawrence outdid former England team-mate Moeen Ali as Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants in Dubai in the first super over at the ILT20.

After Vipers matched Giants' 179-5 with 179-9 in the regulation match, Surrey batter Lawrence hit the fifth ball of Vipers' super over for six to set Giants a target of 14.

Former England all-rounder Moeen emerged but neither he nor Nottinghamshire batter Tom Moores managed a boundary from Pakistan seamer Naseem Shah, who conceded only eight runs.

Vipers could have won the match before the super over with Lawrence making 56 and captain Sam Curran 44 but lost five wickets in a frantic final three overs.

Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai defended seven from the last five balls to force the super over but Vipers eventually secured victory.

It maintains their perfect start with three wins from three, while inflicting Giants first defeat.

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England's Jordan Cox and West Indies' Rovman Powell starred as Dubai Capitals trashed Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 83 runs in the International League T20.

The pair came together at 43-3 after Capitals were asked to bat first and shared 119 for the fourth wicket.

Cox made 52 off 36 balls with four fours and one six, while Powell smashed an unbeaten 96 off 52 balls with eight fours and four sixes as Capitals posted 186-4.

Cox is playing in this tournament, before moving to Capitals' sister side Pretoria in the SA20 as he looks to seals a place in England's squad for the T20 World Cup in February.

In reply, Knight Riders slipped to 10-3 in the second over with Alex Hales removed for a first-ball duck by David Willey.

They were unable to recover with England duo Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone dismissed for 26 and 17 respectively.

Afghanistan's Waqar Salamkheil was the pick of the bowlers with 4-29.

The win is Capitals' first of the season after two defeats, while Knight Riders sit a place below them in fourth after successive losses.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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MI Emirates fought back from a likely defeat to edge Sharjah Warriorz by four runs in the International League T20.

Chasing 186, Warriorz needed 35 from 30 balls but MI and Afghanistan bowler Allah Ghazanfar took a double-wicket maiden.

It left Warriorz needing 35 from 24 balls before two quiet overs left 21 required from the final 12 balls.

Dinesh Karthik hit a four through mid-wicket but Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who was set on 51, holed out to long on.

Adil Rashid and Karthik exchanged singles and two wides left 11 from the final over but Romario Shepherd removed Karthik and conceded just six to seal the win.

Warriorz had earlier posted 185-8 with Muhammad Waseem top-scoring with 39 and Jonny Bairstow 37.

They were stuttering at 131-5 but Shepherd ensured a strong finish to an innings with an unbeaten 31 off 10 balls.

The win is MI's first and leaves them fourth, while Warriorz are bottom after back-to-back defeats.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Sydney Sixers won by one run in an extraordinary finale to pip Adelaide Strikers to the last play-off spot in this year's Women's Big Bash play-offs.

After Ellyse Perry's 111 in Sixers' 173-4 and having fallen to 86-5 in the 14th over, Strikers needed 18 from the last six balls with five wickets left in the winner-takes-all match.

Bridget Patterson, who had reached 51 from 31 balls, then began the final over by striking Ash Gardner for two fours and a six to leave four more runs to get from three balls.

Patterson took a bye after missing a reverse sweep next ball but then Amanda-Jade Wellington was bowled for 31 from 20 balls.

That meant England spinner Sophie Ecclestone emerged with three runs to win from the final ball and she was run out coming back for the second, having only managed to knock a full ball to long-on.

The win lifts Sixers to second in the table and sends them straight into the challenger, thus avoiding the knockout which will feature Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars.

Strikers would have made the play-offs with a win but finish sixth.

• WBBL table

Play-off schedule

• 9 December (08:10 GMT): Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars

• 11 December (08:10 GMT): Challenger - Sydney Sixers v winner of knockout

• 13 December (08:10 GMT): Final - Hobart Hurricanes v winner of challenger

Commentary of all three play-off matches is available on BBC Sounds.

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Pathum Nissanka hit his second consecutive half-century as Gulf Giants beat Dubai Capitals by four wickets in the International League T20.

Chasing 161, the opener struck six fours and five sixes in a 31-ball 67, putting on 97 for the second wicket with James Vince, who finished with an unbeaten 50.

The Sri Lanka batter's dismissal, caught by Jordan Cox off Mustafizur Rahman, started a run where Giants lost five wickets for 51 runs, but their scoring didn't stall and they reached their target with seven balls to spare.

English batters Jordan Cox and David Willey made 29 and 31 respectively for Capitals after they were put into bat.

All of the Dubai side's top six made it into double figures but Sediqullah Atal was their top-scorer with 35, while captain Dasun Shanaka, batting at number eight, struck an unbroken 23 from nine deliveries as his side closed on 160-6.

That wasn't enough to stop Giants, who also beat MI Emirates in their opening game following Nissanka's 81.

Meanwhile defending champions Capitals start their season with back-to-back defeats.

• ILT20 fixtures & table