Gulf Giants have made it two wins out of two games and go to the top of the points table on Net Run Rate after an impressive 4-wicket win with 7 balls to spare against defending champions Dubai Capitals who now have lost their opening two games. Gulf Giants played the key moments better and deserved the win. They put the Capitals into bat first and they made 160/6 in 20 overs with everyone chipping in with contributions while Omarzai picked up 3-wicket haul.
In reply, it was the Pathum Nissanka show yet again as his 67 off 31 balls paved the way for the win. Impact Player James Vince remained unbeaten on 50 off 45 balls as the Giants got over the line with more than an over to spare. Mustafizur Rahman bowled well for the Capitals and picked up 2 wickets and so did Dasun Shanaka but it was to no avail as they went down yet again.
All-Round Batting Display Takes Dubai Capitals to 160/6
Put into bat first, Shayan Jahangir and Sediqullah Atal came out to open for Dubai Capitals while Nuwan Thushara had ball in hand for Gulf Giants. The Capitals got off to a steady start but the opening partnership did not last long as Jahangir was the first one to depart for 12 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name as Azmatullah Omarzai picked up his wicket. David Willey came out to bat next. Willey and Atal started to build a partnership to lay the platform for the others to come in.
Atal played the role of aggressor while Willey dropped anchor as he went at just over run a ball while Atal was impressive with his strike rate. At the end of the powerplay, the Capitals were 44/1 and decently placed with wickets in hand. Atal and Willey kept things going in the middle overs as well. The duo put on 61 runs off 42 balls for the second wicket before Atal was the one who fell at the start of the 10th over for 35 off 25 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as captain Moeen Ali got his first wicket.
Gulbadin Naib came out to bat next and it was a struggle for him out there in the middle. Naib joined Willey in the middle and added just 14 runs before Willey fell for 29 off 28 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name as Liam Dawson had his man. Jordan Cox came out to bat next. Naib did not last long either as he fell for 10 off 15 balls with one six to his name to Afzal Khan. Impact Player Jimmy Neesham came out to bat with the score reading 93/4 in 13.5 overs. The Capitals were in a spot of bother as the middle overs didn’t go their way.
Cox was the aggressor of the two and took on the bowling while Neesham played second fiddle and couldn’t get the timing going. Cox played his shots all along the ground and built an important 41-run stand off 23 balls where Cox did the heavy lifting while Neesham held one end up. This partnership rescued Dubai Capitals from a precarious position. Eventually Cox fell in the 18th over for 31 off 17 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Omarzai picked up his second scalp. Rovman Powell came out to bat next.
Powell did not last long as Omarzai had two in the over with Powell departing for a silver duck with the Capitals reduced to 134/6 in 18 overs. Captain Dasun Shanaka came out to bat with 2 overs to go. Shanaka was quickly off the blocks and took the majority of the strike for the last two overs and boy he put on a show with his late cameo. After 18 overs, Capitals looked like they would get 150 but Shanaka’s blitz unbeaten 23 off 9 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name took the Capitals to 160/6 in 20 overs. Neesham remained unbeaten on 16 off 13 balls with one four to his name. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
Azmatullah Omarzai was the pick of the bowlers for Gulf Giants albeit expensive as he finished with 3/46 in 4 overs. Moeen Ali finished with 1/23 in 4 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Aayan Afzal Khan bowled an over for 3 runs and picked up a wicket. Mark Adair bowled 2 overs for 10 runs. Nuwan Thushara bowled 4 overs for 34 runs. Haider Razzaq bowled an over for 12 runs. This meant the target for Gulf Giants was 161 runs in 20 overs.
Pathum Nissanka’s explosive 67 guides Gulf Giants to another impressive win
Chasing 161 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out to bat for Gulf Giants. David Willey had ball in hand for Dubai Capitals. The Giants were off to a shaky start as the opening partnership did not last long as Gurbaz fell early for 9 off 6 balls with one six to his name. Mustafizur Rahman picked up his first wicket. Impact Player James Vince came out to bat next. From hereon, it was the Nissanka-Vince show. Nissanka shone through and made an instant impact as he was the aggressor of the two.
Vince dropped anchor and played second fiddle. Nissanka was hitting sixes for fun while Vince played along the ground. They played through the powerplay overs and were going at 10 runs an over as they reached 60/1 in 6 overs. They played the middle overs after that as well as Nissanka dazzled under the lights in Dubai. Vince was happy to play second fiddle. The duo put on a match-winning partnership of 97 runs off 60 balls before Nissanka who completed his fifty earlier fell for 67 off 31 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes to his name as Mustafizur got his man.
Captain Moeen Ali came out to bat next. The captain Moeen did not last long as he fell for 2 off 5 balls to his opposite number Dasun Shanaka. Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next. Omarzai looked to be positive while Vince held one end up. The duo of Omarzai and Vince added 16 more runs before Omarzai was removed for 14 off 12 balls with one four and one six to his name as Shanaka got his second wicket. Tom Moores came out to bat next with the score reading 128/4 in 15 overs.
Moores and Vince started to build a partnership that took the Giants closer to the win. They added 16 more to the tally before Moores fell for 13 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name as Waqar Salamkheil got his first wicket. Gerhard Erasmus came out to bat next. Vince took the role of aggressor and scored runs while Erasmus tried to hang in there. Another 14-run stand happened between the two players. Erasmus did not score much as he was dismissed for 3 off 4 balls by Jawadullah. Mark Adair came out to bat next.
Adair got off the mark while Vince soon got to his fifty as the Giants eventually got over the line in 18.5 overs winning by 4 wickets with 7 balls to spare with Vince unbeaten on 50 off 45 balls with 5 fours and one six to his name while Adair was unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls. 2 extras given by the fielding side as they finished with 161/6.
Mustafizur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers for Dubai Capitals with figures of 2/26 in 4 overs. Dasun Shanaka the captain picked up 2/16 in 2 overs. Muhammad Jawadullah picked up 1/4 in 5 balls. Waqar Salamkheil finished with 1/45 in 4 overs. David Willey finished with 0/26 in 3 overs. Haider Ali finished with 0/21 in 4 overs. Impact Player Jimmy Neesham bowled an over and went for 22 runs. So, Gulf Giants win by 4 wickets with 7 balls to spare. Pathum Nissanka was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
It’s double header time in ILT20 2025 on Super Sunday. First up, we are in Sharjah where Sharjah Warriors will square off against MI Emirates from 3:30 PM IST onwards on 7th December 2025. This will be followed by Dubai Capitals taking on Abu Dhabi Knight Riders from Dubai at 8:00 PM IST onwards on 7th December 2025. Double the action, double the fun on ILT20 2025.
Let’s wait and watch as to which teams come out on top in these two matches.
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