Gulf Giants began their campaign in style at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai with an emphatic 6-wicket win with more than 5 overs to spare. Gulf Giants outplayed their opponents in all facets of the game after winning the toss and opting to field and they deserved the win in the end. They put MI Emirates into bat and had them in trouble at 57/4 before captain Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran rescued the innings and got them to a competitive 163/6 in 20 overs.
In the chase, it was the Pathum Nissanka show as his magnificent 81 off 42 balls alongside contributions from captain Moeen Ali and Azmatullah Omarzai took the Giants over the line inside 15 overs despite losing 4 wickets. MI Emirates tried their best but in the end it was too low a score to defend under the conditions,
Kieron Pollard & Nicholas Pooran helps MI Emirates to recover and get to 163/6 in 20 overs.Â
Put into bat first, Muhammad Waseem and Jonny Bairstow came out to bat for MI Emirates while Nuwan Thushara had ball in hand for Gulf Giants. The Emirates got off the worst possible start as Waseem was the first one to go for 1 off 2 balls to Thushara. Tom Banton came to the crease next. Bairstow and Forde tried to forge a partnership of some substance and added 15 runs before Banton was prized out for 6 off 8 balls with a boundary to his name as Azmatullah Omarzai got his wicket. Nicholas Pooran the keeper batter came out to bat next.
Jonny Bairstow tried to get going as well but could add only 13 runs with Pooran before Bairstow too fell for 11 off 13 balls with a boundary to his name to Thushara who had his second wicket. Tajinder Singh came out to bat with MI Emirates reeling at 30/3 in 5 overs. The powerplay score was 36/3 in 6 overs. Pooran and Tajinder played the middle overs and started to rebuild proceedings while building a partnership.
Pooran played his shots while it was a struggle for Tajinder out there but he tried to hang in there as much as possible. The duo of Pooran and Tajinder put on 27 for the 4th wicket before Tajinder fell for 15 off 19 balls with a boundary to his name as captain Moeen Ali got a wicket to his name as Emirates were struggling at this stage when captain Kieron Pollard joined Pooran in the middle with half the innings still left in the innings.
It was time for the West Indies duo to do the rescue act for MI Emirates and boy they came to the party. Pooran and Pollard put on a show with Pollard being the aggressor and Pooran playing second fiddle throughout the time. They complimented each other well to get themselves in the middle overs and then went big in the death overs MI batted deep in this innings. The bowlers had no answer as these two put on a show for the ages. The duo put on 78 for the 5th wicket with both complimenting each other and it was broken by Haider Razzaq as Pooran fell for 46 off 39 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name.
Romario Shepherd came out to bat next with 2.1 overs left to finish the innings for MI Emirates. He teed off from the word go. He scored an unbeaten 18 off 6 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name while the captain Pollard fell for 50 off 33 balls and fell after getting his half century hitting 4 sixes to his name to Omarzai. With one ball left in the innings, Rashid Khan came and launched Omarzai for the maximum as he remained unbeaten on 6 off 1 ball. 10 extras given by the fielding side as MI Emirates recovered to get to 163/6 in 20 overs.
Azmatullah Omarzai was the pick of the bowlers for Gulf Giants with figures of 2/32 in 4 overs. Nuwan Thusara finished with 2/41 in 4 overs. Haider Razzaq finished with 1/28 in 4 overs. Moeen Ali the captain bowled 2 overs and picked up 1/13. Matthew Forde bowled 4 overs for 24 runs while Tabraiz Shamsi went for 23 runs in 2 overs. The target for Gulf Giants was 164 runs in 20 overs.
Pathum Nissanka’s magical 81 takes Gulf Giants over the line with 32 balls to spare.Â
Chasing 164 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out to bat for Gulf Giants while Chris Woakes had ball in hand for MI Emirates. The Giants got off to a shaky start as Gurbaz after hitting a maximum fell to Woakes for 6 off 3 balls with a maximum to his name in the first over of the chase. Gerhard Erasmus came out to bat next. Nissanka was positive from the get go as he took Muhammd Rohid Khan on and hit him for boundaries and sixes.
Woakes got another wicket to his name as he removed Erasmus for 1 off 5 balls. Captain Moeen Ali came out to bat with the score reading 16/2 in 2.2 overs. Captain Moeen Ali came out to bat next and started building a stand with Nissanka. But it was the Pathum Nissanka show as he blazed away under the Dubai lights. The duo were aggressive and maintained a healthy run rate as the Giants reached 54/2 in 6 overs of powerplay.
Moeen played the role of anchor while Nissanka was blazing away at the other end. But against the run of play, Moeen was run out for 26 off 21 balls with one four and 2 sixes to his name to leave the Giants in a spot of bother at 63/3 in 7.3 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next. Omarzai and Nissanka combined together and built a match winning stand and took the game away from the Emirates. They dominated the middle overs to such an extent that they took the game away from the opposition.Both Nissanka and Omarzai complimented each other well.
They took down the bowling as Nissanka completed his half-century and became more aggressive after that. Omarzai was not slow either and was quick off the blocks playing his natural game. The duo put on 94 for the fourth wicket in 41 balls and they made the chase an absolute mockery. Nissanka with the Giants within touching distance of the win fell for 81 off 42 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name as Allah Ghazanfar got a wicket to his name. Impact Player Tom Moores came out to bat next and got off the mark to remain unbeaten on 1 off 1 balls.
Omarzai remained unbeaten on 39 off 16 balls with one four and 4 sixes to his name as the victory target was achieved in 14.4 overs. 10 extras given by the fielding side. Chris Woakes finished with 2/49 in 4 overs as it was a hard day for the Emirates bowlers. Allah Ghazanfar finished with 1/18 in 2.4 overs. Muhammad Rohid Khan finished with 0/20 in 2 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi the Impact Player finished with 0/32 in 3 overs. Rashid Khan went for 44 runs in 3 overs. So, the Gulf Giants won by 6 wickets as Pathum Nissanka was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead. Â
Next-up in ILT20 2025 will feature Desert Vipers up against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Match 4 of the tournament. Both teams won their opening games and this match takes place in Sharjah from 8 PM onwards IST. Let’s wait and see who keeps their unbeaten record alive after tonight.
Also Read:Â ILT20 2025: Desert Vipers Start Their Campaign With Emphatic Win