Rovman Powell made the most of a second life gifted to him by Azam Khan to power Dubai Capitals to their maiden ILT20 title as they beat Desert Vipers in the thrilling final. Rovman Powell‘s 38-ball 63 and a crucial 12-ball 34 not out by Sikandar Raza helped Dubai Capitals become the ILT20 2025 champions with a four-wicket win over Desert Vipers. Max Holden’s 51-ball 76 and Sam Curran’s 62 not out off 33 helped the Vipers post a competitive 189/5.
The Capitals slipped to 31/3 in reply before Shai Hope (43 off 39) and Rovman Powell put on an important 80-run stand. Rovman Powell also added 41 with Dasun Shanaka but quick wickets tilted the game in Vipers’ favour, only for Raza to blow it away from them in the last two overs as the Capitals won with four deliveries to spare.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : The ball with zip through at a good pace, it will come onto the bat nicely. The pitch looks dry but there is moisture on the surface. The spinners have got more wickets on this venue, but today’s big final will boil down to the intensity, energy and fight of all the players.
Toss : Dubai Capitals skipper Sam Billings won the toss and chose to field with two changes in the playing XI with David Warner and Scott Kuggeleijn coming in for Adam Rossington and Dushmantha Chameera. Desert Vipers skipper Sam Curran batting first made no changes in the Playing XI.
Max Holden and Sam Curran’s half centuries powers Desert Vipers to 189 for 5 in 20 overs
Asked to bat first, Alex Hales got off to a promising start with a boundary in the opening over. However, his stay was short-lived as he mistimed a shot and was caught at midwicket off Obed McCoy’s bowling. The Vipers suffered another early blow when McCoy dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, but Max Holden counterattacked with a flurry of boundaries – scoring nine of them within the powerplay – propelling the Vipers to 53/2 after six overs.
Capitals got off to a great start after winning the toss as Obed McCoy removed the dangerous Alex Hales with his first ball. Hales chipped him to midwicket, where Haider Ali took a good catch diving forward. Capitals could have had Gurbaz back in the hut in the next over, but Scott Kuggeleijn dropped him at deep point off Farhan Khan.
Holden, who cracked two boundaries off McCoy in the first five balls he faced, injected Vipers with the early momentum, racing to 22 off 13 when Gurbaz miscued McCoy to mid-off in the fifth over.
Sensing the need for control, the Capitals introduced spin, with Qais Ahmad and Haider Ali tightening the screws for a couple of overs. However, Raza conceded two boundaries in his first over, and Holden, having reached a brisk 32-ball fifty, was handed a reprieve soon after. The breakthrough eventually came for the Capitals when Haider removed Dan Lawrence, leaving the Vipers at 76/3 at the halfway mark.
Holden continued to attack, picking three boundaries off Kuggeleijn to take Vipers to 53 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. He brought up a 32-ball half-century in the eighth over with a boundary driven back over Raza’s head. Another attempted straight drive off the next ball almost saw him hole out, but Powell dropped him running to his right from long-on.
Dan Lawrence then holed out at deep cover off Haider, having contributed just 10 runs to a 41-run stand for the third wicket. Capitals slowed things down and it only got better for them when Holden holed off to long-on off Raza.
But Curran and Azam then hammed 67 off 29 balls for the fifth wicket to take Vipers to a strong total. Azam made an instant impact, clipping his first ball fine down the leg side for a boundary before clearing long-off in the same over. McCoy returned to bowl the 18th over and Curran welcomed him with boundaries on either side of point off the first two balls and then nudged him past fine leg for another boundary two balls later.
Kuggeleijn, who had been expensive on the night, bowled the penultimate over and Curran greeted him with a 117-metre six over midwicket. Curran brought up a 28-ball fifty next ball before picking up another boundary off a top edge. Kuggeleijn also dropped Azam off the last ball of the over to finish with figures of 0 for 40 from three overs. Azam hit another boundary to punish that mistake, but in the end, his innings won’t be what he will likely remember about this final.
Sam Curran joined Holden and the duo kept the scoreboard ticking with smart rotation of strike and timely boundaries, guiding the Vipers to the 100-run mark in 13 overs. A 14-run over off Qais Ahmad, featuring a six from Curran, provided the momentum heading into the final five overs. Holden’s fine knock came to an end in the 16th over when Raza struck, but Azam Khan wasted no time making an impact, smashing a four and a six in the same over.
Sam Curran then took charge, striking three fours off McCoy in the 18th over, which yielded 16 runs. A six and a couple off Scott Kuggeleijn in the 19th over helped the Vipers captain bring up a 28-ball fifty and he capped off the innings with another maximum in the final over, ensuring his team finished with a strong total.
Rovman Powell, Sikandar Raza fire Dubai Capitals to maiden ILT20 title in a thrilling chase vs Desert Vipers
Hope and David Warner each struck a boundary at the start of the chase before the latter was bowled by David Payne off an inside edge. Mohammad Amir then trapped Gulbadin Naib lbw before Sam Billings escaped when the Vipers opted not to review for an edge. However, it wasn’t costly as Amir dismissed Billings in his next over, getting him to glove a slower delivery. The Vipers kept the Capitals in check, restricting them to 39/3 in the powerplay.
Capitals were in trouble early in their chase of 190, with David Warner chopping on off David Payne and Mohammad Amir removing Gulbadin Naib and Sam Billings, who was also dropped off Amir three balls before his dismissal.
Vipers almost had another one when Nathan Sowter had Powell stumped down the leg side, but the third umpire caught Azam bringing his gloves beside the stumps before collecting the ball and it was declared a no-ball.
That proved to be the turning point in the game as Powell, who was on 2 off 6 at the time, switched gears to wrestle momentum away from Vipers. He hit Sowter for a six before crashing 15 off the 16 runs Curran conceded off the next over, with two fours and a six. Hope picked up the pace as well, hitting Sowter for a six as the next two overs fetched Capitals 21 runs. Even as Curran accounted for Hope, Rovman Powell kept going, while Dasun Shanaka joined in with an impactful cameo of 21 off 10.
Rovman Powell had a lucky break as Azam collected the ball in line with the stumps, costing Nathan Sowter a dismissal off a stumping. Rovman Powell went on to hit a six in the same over and then took on Curran, striking a maximum along with two fours in a 16-run over. Hope, who was playing a measured knock, hit his first six by going over deep midwicket off Sowter, as the fourth wicket pair raised a half-century stand and helped the Capitals to 86/3 after 10 overs.
The Capitals reached the 100 mark an over quicker than the Vipers, with the well-paced partnership keeping them on track although the required rate was going up. Curran came back into the attack to break the partnership, bowling a slower cutter to get Hope caught on the sweep at deep midwicket. Shanaka was put down by Gurbaz at deep midwicket off Sowter, sandwiched between two much-needed boundaries by Powell as he got to a 30-ball 50.
With 65 needed off 30 balls, the onus was on Rovman Powell and Shanaka to lead the Capitals towards the finish line. Both struck maximums off Curran in a 16-run 16th over and Shanaka also hit a six off Payne before getting caught at long on. With 37 needed off the last three overs, Raza and Rovman Powell hit two fours off Sowter but the Middlesex leg spinner picked up the vital scalp of the West Indian.
With 38 still needed off 19 deliveries, the job was far from done but Raza ensured Capitals went over the line. Raza and Rovman Powell picked up a boundary each off the 18th over, before Sowter finally had his man when Powell was caught at backward point. However, Raza hit three fours off four balls in the next over to leave Capitals with just nine needed off the final over. Raza finished the game in style, hitting Khuzaima Tanveer for a six and four off the first two balls of the last over to seal a win without any more drama.
The Capitals needed 24 off 12 when Amir came back on for his final over and he ended up going for 15, with Raza hitting three fours and also retaining the strike for the final over. Raza finished it off with a six and a four off the first two balls of the final over bowled by Khuzaima Tanveer as the Capitals became the third team to lift the ILT20 title.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Sam Billings the title winning DC skipper said : Phenomenal. What a game of cricket. Few of us couldn’t watch. Thankfully the guys got the job done. Couple of incredible knocks when the game was pretty much gone. We did a lot of good stuff. Holden showed his class and put us under pressure. Sam Curran the way he is playing right now, he is one of the best players in the world according to me.
Pretty much carbon copy both teams and quality striking. To have the quality of someone like Raza at 7 and Scotty Kuggeleijn at 8 and even Qais at 9, who can strike it. Lots of conversations and to have bowling and batting options gave us a lot of flexibility. [on the owners] Huge amount. 16-17 years and their first trophy. Two great human beings. Got my first opportunity in the IPL in 2015, two nice genuinely people and very calm.
They deserve it more than anyone. [on Raza] Quality cricketer, three-dimensional. When you win a tournament, it is not down to one person and it is down to the squad. High pressure moments and to do it in a final is such a big thing. I moved my flight a bit later.
The popularity of the tournament has grown over the last three years and that’s why you play in the big finals. This venue is great, when it is packed it is as loud as it gets. To see a packed house tonight and to give them a worthy final was great.
Sam Curran the losing skipper and the red belt holder for Player of the Series said : Reasonably flat right now. Amazing game and a small accolade, tough to take when you lose. It is one of the most enjoyable teams I have been in my career. A thoroughly professional setup and hopefully one better next year.
Lots of coaching staff and players I knew, taking on those roles and being adaptable with the ball. The Capitals have had a few wins over us in the group stage, thought we had a really good score on the board but extremely proud of the team and the coaching staff. It’s just the professionalism and the family feel, we got to be really proud of ourselves and hope to go one better next year.
Muhammad Waseem gets the Blue Belt for the best UAE player of the tournament. Third time in a row for him.
Shai Hope gets the Green Belt for the best batter of the tournament.
Fazalhaq Farooqi gets the White Belt for being the best bowler of the tournament.
Rovman Powell Player of the Match for his 63 runs said : Credit to the guys in the dressing room, the message was to just stay calm. The competition has been silent for me, but today in the final I wanted to prove myself. In the final, big players stand up. I’m disappointed to get out but glad we got through. I’ve been in a lot of finals, we were in a final last year. Lots of credit to the owners. They haven’t won a final for 17 years. Great night for the GMR family.
The Dubai Capitals have finally etched their name in DP World ILT20 history, securing their first-ever title with a dramatic four-wicket win over the Desert Vipers in the Season 3 final at the Dubai International Stadium.
A blistering finish from Sikandar Raza (34 off 12) and a captain’s knock from Rovman Powell (63 off 38) powered the Capitals to 191/6, chasing down 189 with four balls to spare. With this victory, the Capitals claimed the USD 700,000 prize, while Vipers took home USD 300,000.
Chasing 189, the Capitals had a shaky start as David Warner (4), Gulbadin Naib (6), and Sam Billings (8) fell early, leaving them 39/3 in the powerplay. But Shai Hope (43 off 33) and Rovman Powell steadied the innings, adding an 80-run partnership. Powell’s power-packed half-century brought the Capitals back into the contest before he fell in the 18th over.
With 65 needed off the last five overs, the Capitals turned to Sikandar Raza, who smashed three fours and two sixes, sealing the win with four balls to spare.
Earlier, the Vipers posted 189/5 on the back of a classy 76 from Max Holden (51 balls) and an explosive *62 from Sam Curran (28 balls)**. Azam Khan (27 off 13) added late fireworks, but the Capitals’ bowlers kept the total within reach. Obed McCoy (2/44) and Haider Ali (1/6) were standout performers with the ball.
Celebrations in the Capitals’ camp. And it is that man from Zimbabwe – Sikandar Raza who has turned it around. When he came in the equation was 38 off 19 and then Powell got out which made it more difficult. It could have been so so different had Azam Khan not got the gloves in front when he got Powell on 2.
That proved to be a big turning point as the Jamaican smoked a 38-ball 63 which kept the required rate under limits and then handy cameos from Shanaka and that innings from Raza finished it off. Earlier, Amir and Payne took three early wickets and reduced the Capitals to 31/3, Shai Hope once again did well with a composed knock before he got out. The Vipers fail to break the losing streak against the Capitals – they now have lost 6 in a row.
And with that, it is time to draw the curtains on this nearly month long tournament from the Middle East. The quality seems to keep getting better with every season, and the stakes keep getting higher. Great sign for the global game. And a great day of reckoning for the Dubai Capitals ownership.