Dubai Capitals Beat Desert Vipers to Reach DP World ILT20 Final

Photo : DP World ILT20

Dubai Capitals won a thrilling match against Desert Vipers on Wednesday to reach the final of the DP World ILT20 Season 3. Gulbadin Naib played a great match, scoring his third half-century in a row against the Vipers and also taking two important wickets. His performance helped the Capitals win by five wickets.

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This win was special because it was the second-highest run chase at the venue in T20 history. It also marked the Capitals' fifth straight win over the Vipers.

The match started with Alex Hales of the Vipers hitting a fast 67 runs from just 32 balls. He and Max Holden made a strong 98-run partnership to give the Vipers a good start. But the Capitals fought back with good bowling and restricted the Vipers to 189/7 in 20 overs.

The Capitals began their chase with 47 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket. Adam Rossington scored 44 runs from 31 balls but was dismissed, and Shai Hope scored 17 before getting out. The Capitals were falling behind, but Gulbadin Naib and captain Sam Billings started to push the chase forward. Billings hit some good boundaries, but he was run out after making 38 runs from 16 balls.

Naib continued to lead the team, and when Rovman Powell was out for 20 runs, the Capitals still needed 12 runs to win in the last over. Naib hit six runs off the first two balls. Then, he was dropped by a fielder, but he was caught out on the next ball, with the scores tied. Sikandar Raza then hit the winning boundary on the last ball.

Earlier, Farhan Khan gave the Capitals an early wicket by dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over. Hales and Holden helped the Vipers score 64/1 in the first six overs. Hales played well, hitting two sixes and a fifty in just 28 balls. He hit seven fours and three sixes.

But the Capitals’ bowlers fought back. Hales was caught by Naib off his own bowling, and Holden was caught off a Qais Ahmad delivery. The Vipers were 107/3 in the 10th over.

Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence tried to keep the Vipers’ score going, but they struggled. Curran hit two sixes, but he was caught by Naib. The Vipers lost some more wickets and finished with 189/7 after 20 overs.

Khuzaima Tanveer added 15 runs in the final over, including a six and two fours, to give the Vipers some extra runs.

Next, MI Emirates will play Sharjah Warriorz in an eliminator match. The winner of that game will play against the Dubai Vipers for a chance to go to the final.