It was one-way traffic in the top of the table clash as Desert Vipers brushed aside Gulf Giants for the second time this season with an impressive 8-wicket win. Desert Vipers had beaten the Giants via a super over the last time around, but there was no need of it right now as they won inside 18 overs. They put the Giants into bat first and through an inspired bowling performance from Khuzaima Bin Tanvir who picked up 4/10, they restricted the Giants to 157/7 in 20 overs.
Chasing 158 for the win, Desert Vipers rode on excellent half-centuries from Max Holden and Sam Curran who both scored in the 60s after they lost two early wickets as their match winning partnership of 123 runs unbeaten off 77 balls sealed the fate of the game as the Vipers won easily by 8 wickets to make it 5 wins out of 5 games and comfortably sit top of the table.
Khuzaima Bin Tanvir’s 4/10 restricts Gulf Giants to 157/7
Put into bat first, Pathum Nissanka and Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out to open for Gulf Giants while David Payne had ball in hand for Desert Vipers. Nissanka was quickly off the blocks as he took on Payne in the first over while Gurbaz was a spectator at the other end. The opening partnership did not last long as at score of 16 Gurbaz fell for 2 off 4 balls to Khuzaima Bin Tanvir. Captain James Vince came out to bat next but he too fell for a silver duck as Tanvir had two in the over with Giants off to a shaky start.
Kyle Mayers came out to bat next to join Nissanka. They added 6 more to the tally before Nissanka the set batter at that moment fell for 19 off 12 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name to Tanvir again who was on a roll now as he broke open the top order. Gerhard Erasmus came out to bat next and struggled out there. 8 more runs were added between Mayers and Erasmus before Erasmus fell for 4 off 9 balls to that man Tanvir again as the Giants were 4 down inside the powerplay.
Asif Khan came out to bat next as the Giants were in early trouble at 30/4 in 6 overs of powerplay. The duo of Mayers and Asif had to rebuild the innings in the middle phase and did it decently well mixing caution with aggression. They had to lay a platform for the others following them. They put on 37 for the 5th wicket before Mayers fell for 30 off 24 balls with one four and three sixes to his name LBW to Noor Ahmad. Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next with the score at 67/5 in 10 overs at the halfway stage when we paused for Drinks.
Omarzai and Asif started to build a stand to repair this Gulf Giants innings with Asif dropping anchor while Omarzai was playing the big shots from time to time. The duo put on a useful 49-run stand off 41 balls before Omarzai fell for 20 off 15 balls with one four to his name to Sam Curran. Mark Adair came out to bat next but he did not last long either as he fell for 1 off 2 balls to Noor Ahmad to leave the Giants struggling at 117/7 in 17.1 overs. Liam Dawson came out to join Asif in the middle with 2.5 overs to go.
Dawson put on a show at the end overs and dominated the partnership while Asif was a mere spectator holding one end up. Dawson scored a mind blowing unbeaten 38 off 14 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name and added 40 runs in 2.5 overs to take the score of Gulf Giants to a respectable 157/7 in 20 overs with Asif remaining unbeaten on 36 off 38 balls with 2 sixes to his name. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
Khuzaima Bin Tanvir was by the far the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/10 in 4 overs. Noor Ahmad supported him well with figures of 2/22 in 4 overs. Sam Curran finished with 1/27 in 4 overs. Lockie Ferguson went for 36 in 4 overs while David Payne had a rare off night going for 60 in 4 overs. The Desert Vipers now needed 158 runs to win in 20 overs.
Max Holden & Sam Curran’s attractive unbeaten 50s takes the Desert Vipers over the line
Chasing 158 for the win, Impact Player Fakhar Zaman came out to open the batting with Max Holden while Impact Player Nuwan Thushara had ball in hand for Gulf Giants. Fakhar was quickly off the blocks and started to make an impact while Max Holden was also up and running. The duo scored 20 runs for the first wicket at a rate of knots before Fakhar’s innings was cut short on 14 off 8 balls with one four to his name to Chris Wood.
Hasan Nawaz came out to bat at 3 and struggled in his stay at the crease. Holden took on the role of aggressor in this partnership as 15 runs were scored at just a bit more than run a ball before Hasan was run out for 7 off 9 balls with one four to his name to leave the Vipers at 35/2 in 4 overs. Sam Curran came out to bat next joining Holden in the middle.
There was no looking back for the Vipers as the duo took charge of the innings from here. Curran was the aggressor hitting fours and sixes while Holden played along the ground. The powerplay score was 53/2 in 6 overs for Desert Vipers and now had the platform in the middle phase. The duo complimented each other really well and upped the ante a little bit from time to time. Both Holden and Sam did not break a sweat and got to their half centuries with ease. The Giants bowler did not have clue as to how to bowl to them and leaked runs as well.
After reaching their 50s, both were in a hurry to finish the match off quickly. The duo added an unbeaten 123 runs off 77 balls with Curran scoring 67 of them while Holden contributed 53 in the partnership of his 64 runs. The game was done and dusted in 16.5 overs as Holden remained unbeaten on 64 off 41 balls with 8 fours to his name while Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 67 off 43 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name as the Desert Vipers got over the line with 8 wickets and 19 balls to spare. 6 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a hard night for the Gulf Giants bowlers. Chris Wood was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/27 in 4 overs. The rest went wicketless with one run out in the innings. Impact Player Nuwan Thushara finished with 0/40 in 3.5 overs. Mark Adair finished with 0/30 in 4 overs. Kyle Mayers finished with 0/31 in 3 overs. Gerhard Erasmus bowled an over for 10 runs. Liam Dawson bowled an over for 19 runs. So, Desert Vipers win by 8 wickets. Khuzaima Bin Tanvir was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
The bandwagon moves back to Abu Dhabi for tonight’s clash. It is Match 13 of the ILT20 2025 and it features Abu Dhabi Knight Riders up against Dubai Capitals live from Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It is a reverse fixture with Dubai already brushing aside Knight Riders in Dubai stadium. We have to wait and see who comes out on top here as Abu Dhabi are languishing in 5th place at the moment and in need of a win.
Let’s see who comes out on top in this heavyweight battle between the two teams.
Also Read:Â ILT20 2025: MI Emirates Climbs To 3rd In Points Table After Emphatic Win