Sam Curran put on an all-round show with ball and then with the bat as Desert Vipers upstaged Dubai Capitals in a thriller by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Sam initially shone with the ball as he picked up 2/17 in 3 overs with ball in hand even as Leus du Plooy and Jordan Cox played well for Dubai Capitals to get them to 166/4. Dasun Shanaka too played a cameo towards the end.
In reply, Sam Curran’s unbeaten half-century guided the chase with meaningful contributions from others around and before him as the Vipers had control over proceedings and eventually got over the line with 2 balls to spare. It was a thriller in Dubai and with this win, Vipers made it 6 wins out of 6 games and have become the first team to already qualify for the playoffs with half the season still left.
Sam Curran’s 2/17 kept Dubai Capitals down to 166/4.Â
Put into bat first, Shayan Jahangir and Leus du Plooy came out to open for Dubai Capitals. Naseem Shah had ball in hand for Desert Vipers. The opening duo got off to a reasonable start putting on 19 inside 3 overs before Jahangir fell to Naseem for 7 off 7 balls with a boundary to his name. Gulbadin Naib came out to bat next. The duo of du Plooy and Naib started to rebuild things for Dubai Capitals and played through the remainder of powerplay.
The powerplay score was 35/1 in 6 overs for the Capitals. The duo stabilised the innings and went at around run a ball. du Plooy was aggressive while Naib went at almost run a ball. The duo added 39 runs off 38 balls before Naib fell for 21 off 20 balls with 4 boundaries to his name to Noor Ahmad. Jordan Cox came out to bat next to join forces with du Plooy.
Cox was quickly off the blocks while du Plooy was holding the innings from one end from the start. The duo added 36 for the third wicket before du Plooy fell for 54 off 44 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name to Sam Curran. Sam had two in two balls as he removed Rovman Powell for a golden duck to be on a hat-trick. Dasun Shanaka came out to bat next ball and survived the hat-trick ball.
The duo of Cox and Shanaka took charge of the innings from here on. The captain Shanaka was quickly off the blocks while Cox played his natural game as Dubai from 94/4 in 13.2 overs attempted to get to a competitive score. They both mixed caution with aggression in the death overs and put on 72 runs in 6.4 overs to take the score to a competitive 166/4 in 20 overs. The unbeaten 72-run stand came off 40 balls.
Cox remained unbeaten on 49 off 30 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Shanaka remained unbeaten on 29 off 18 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. 6 extras given by the fielding side as the Capitals finished with 166/4 in 20 overs.
Sam Curran was the pick of the bowlers for Desert Vipers with figures of 2/17 in 3 overs. Noor Ahmad bowled well for his 1/21 in 4 overs. Naseem Shah finished with 1/35 in 4 overs. Khuzaima Bin Tanvir finished with 0/25 in 3 overs. Lockie Ferguson the captain gave away 45 runs in 4 overs. Daniel Lawrence gave away 19 runs in 2 overs. This meant that Desert Vipers needed 167 runs to win off 20 overs to make it 6 wins out of 6 games.
Sam Curran’s unbeaten half-century guided Desert Vipers to the win.Â
Chasing 167 for the win, Impact Player Fakhar Zaman came out to open the batting with Max Holden for Desert Vipers while David Willey had ball in hand for Dubai Capitals. The Vipers were quickly off the blocks with Holden being the aggressor while Fakhar the impact player played second fiddle. The duo quickly added 38 runs inside 5 overs before impact player Zaman was dismissed for 14 off 12 balls with one four to his name to Mustafizur Rahman.
Hasan Nawaz came out to join Holden at the crease and the youngster showed his prowess straightaway by quickly getting off the blocks and playing his shots. The duo first took the score to 50/1 in 6 overs of powerplay. The duo added a total of 15 runs from 38 to 53 before Holden fell for 34 off 22 balls with 6 fours to his name. This brought Sam Curran to the crease to join Nawaz in the middle.
Hasan was at his brutal best while Sam showed intent too as the duo added a quickfire 32 runs for the third wicket before Hasan’s enterprising innings came to an end as he fell for 31 off 17 balls with 3 sixes to his name to Waqar Salamkheil. Daniel Lawrence came out to bat next. Curran took charge of the innings while Lawrence had time to play himself in as the Vipers had already reached 85 inside 10 overs in this 167 chase. Lawrence played his natural game while Curran was at his dominating best.
The English duo added 32 runs for the 4th wicket before Lawrence’s innings was cut shot on 20 off 15 balls with one four and one six to his name. Shimron Hetmyer came out to bat next and he played at his own pace while Curran was doing the heavy lifting from here. Hetmyer and Curran settled in from the 14th over when score was 117 and built a match winning stand. Hetmyer played the role of anchor while Curran did the bulk of the scoring in this partnership.
The partnership was worth a match defining 47 runs and took 34 balls in getting there with Hetmyer contributing only 18 off 17 balls in that one. They aced the death overs phase after the middle overs and sealed the game by 19 overs only as they had reached 164 by 19 overs. With just 3 needed to win off 6 balls, Hetmyer was dismissed for 18 off 17 balls with one four and one six to his name to Dasun Shanaka.
Tom Bruce came out to bat and got off the mark to remain unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls. But it was Sam Curran who put the exclamation mark on the match as he hit a maximum off Shanaka in the 4th ball of the final over to complete his fifty and the match as he remained unbeaten on 52 off 33 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name as the Vipers got over the line with 5 wickets and 2 balls to spare. One extra given by the fielding side.
Dasun Shanaka picked up 2 wickets and finished with 2/19 in 1.4 overs. Impact Player Waqar Salamkheil finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Haider Ali finished with 1/20 in 2 overs. Mustafizur Rahman finished with 1/30 in 4 overs. David Willey bowled 3 overs and gave away 30 runs. Mohammad Nabi gave 29 runs in 4 overs. Muhammad Jawadullah finished with 0/12 in 1 over. So, Desert Vipers win by 5 wickets with 2 balls left. Sam Curran was awarded the Player of the Match award for his all-round performance.
What Lies Ahead.Â
After a double header Sunday, we are back to single headers on Monday as we have one game lined up for you. Sharjah Warriorz will lock horns with Gulf Giants in Match 16 of the tournament with Warriorz hoping to make it 2 wins in a row against the second-placed team Gulf Giants. This match will be in Sharjah on 15th December, 2025 at 8 PM IST onwards. Let’s see who comes out on top in this one.
Also Read:Â ILT20 2025: Desert Vipers Make It 5 Wins In 5 Games With Impressive Win