Gulf Giants prevail over Knight Riders by three runs to confirm Qualifier 1 berth against MI Emirates

Gulf Giants pulled off a hard-fought three-runs win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the 28th match of the DP World ILT20 season 2 at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday and secured their spot in the Qualifier 1 against MI Emirates.

Their skipper James Vince’s knock of 50 in 39 balls with five boundaries and a six, Jordan Cox’s 57 runs off 38 balls with two boundaries and four sixes, and their 103 opening partnership backed by Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 39 off 27 balls with five boundaries gave them a total of 166 for 3 in 20 overs.

Earlier, second-placed Gulf Giants won the toss and elected to bat against the third-placed Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.

Giants skipper and consistent scorer, James Vince said after the match: “The last four games have been magnificent. The last two games, we were in the game. They were ahead in the game, we showed a lot of character to fight back.”

Player of the Match, Jamie Overton, explained in length how he bowled: “In T20, it’s hard (to keep the cool). You just back what you are doing. We try to be unpredictable with our lengths. The wicket was slow at times. Some stopped a little bit, some skidded through. Back end, you are going to get hit, you just got to keep backing yourself.”

He hailed UAE spinners Aayan Khan and Zuhaib Zubair too saying: “They have been phenomenal, holding those middle overs and picking crucial wickets.”

Dubai Capitals inch closer to Qualifier berth

In the second match of the day Saturday, Dubai Capitals pulled off an impressive 19-run victory against MI Emirates at the Zayed Cricket Stadium to register their fifth victory of the competition.

With this result, Desert Vipers are no longer in the race for a position in the play-offs while Dubai Capitals put themselves in a very good position to join the MI Emirates, Gulf Giants and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.

However, their fate relies on Sunday’s match between Sharjah Warriors and Desert Vipers.

The Dubai Capitals were mediocre with the bat besides the top order performances from Max Holden who scored 51 runs in just 33 deliveries and Tom Banton who contributed with a score of 37 runs.

The standout performance for the Dubai Capitals were their spinners who wove an intricate web around the MI Emirates batsmen.

However, MI Emirates bowling unit excelled. They were led by stellar spells from Dan Mousley (2/22) and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (2/23). Andre Fletcher played a brave innings of 45 runs, but it was to no avail due to the lack of support.

Invited to bat first, the Dubai Capitals illuminated the stadium early on with openers Tom Banton and Max Holden unleashing an array of strokes that led to nine boundaries in the first four overs including Holden cracking Dwayne Bravo for three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over.

The introduction of Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Dan Mousley into the bowling attack helped stem the flow of runs, however, Capitals were in a commanding position of 57/0 by the end of the powerplay.

Following the match a delighted Sam Billings, captain of the Dubai Capitals, spoke on the team’s approach to the powerplay and the pitch conditions.

He said, “If you look at this tournament, it is about trends. The key area where we have struggled is the powerplay. We are glad that Holden did well today, and Tom Banton also played his part. In different parts of the world, you can score 12-13 per over. But here holding one end up is vital.”

He further commended his bowlers. “Everyone wants the ball and that is always a positive. Zahir Khan came off the plane today morning and did very well for us as well.”

Meanwhile, a disappointed MI Emirates skipper, Keiron Pollard said after the match: “In terms of points and placement in the table, the result is not significant. However, winning is a habit and so is losing.

“Not being able to chase it down has nothing to do with the conditions. It was the sort of total where we needed to bat deep. One or two big overs would have broken the back of the match. Going forward we need to try and plan well. It is a matter of planning and execution.”