Desert Vipers enjoy six-wicket ILT20 victory over Gulf Giants

The Desert Vipers defeated the Gulf Giants by six wickets in a low-scoring affair to complete their second consecutive victory, at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday evening.

An unbeaten knock of 42 runs from all-rounder Sam Curran orchestrated a comfortable run chase for the Desert Vipers. He was assisted by Sherfane Rutherford who finished with 40 runs in 18 balls to bring the Vipers home in 17.4 overs.

The Vipers’ pacers ruled the first innings as skipper Lockie Ferguson and Mohammad Amir ran through the Giants top and middle order with three and two wickets respectively. Leading from the front, James Vince waged a lone battle, putting on an unbeaten 76 runs in 62 balls to steer the Giants to 119/9 in 20 overs.

The Desert Vipers’ were rattled in the second over of their run chase as Mark Adair accounted for Fakhar Zaman and the in-form Dan Lawrence. The English duo of Alex Hales and Sam Curran saw the Vipers through the powerplay, delicately placed at 22/2.

While Hales was the more reserved of the two, Curran broke the shackles in the seventh over with a six over extra cover and a four off Daniel Worall. Curran and Hales steadied the ship, combining for 49 runs before Blessing Muzarabani got the all-important breakthrough of Alex Hales. Hales scored 20 runs in 30 balls.

Azam Khan miscued Tymal Mills’ shorter one to depart for seven runs and leave the score at 66/4 in 12.2 overs. Every time the pressure built; Curran found a boundary to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Sherfane Rutherford joined the run chase as the Vipers cruised towards the target. The pair put on 55 runs in 32 balls as Rutherford struck two sixes and a four in the 18th over to chase down the target of 120 in 17.4 overs. Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 42 runs in 43 balls including four fours and a six.

Earlier in the evening, the Gulf Giants lost early wickets with Mohammad Amir tapping Adam Lyth, LBW, as early as the first over.  Soon after, Lockie Ferguson scalped Rehan Khan, while Jordan Cox was dismissed by Sam Curran to leave the Giants in hot water at 32/3 in six overs.

Opener James Vince played a measured innings, taking few chances and frequently rotating the strike. However, he struggled to find support with wickets tumbling around him.

Wanindu Hasaranga cleaned up Ollie Robinson for a duck in the sixth over while Lockie Ferguson returned to the attack to pick up the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer and Mark Adair for single figures.

At 50/6, Vince found brief support in UAE’s Aayan Afzal Khan, who scored 15 off 18 and launched Hasaranga for the first six of the game during a 36-run stand. However, Khan’s dismissal in the 15th over by Luke Wood further dented the Giants’ efforts. Amir then picked off Saghir Khan with a clever slower delivery, leaving Vince to fight a lone battle.

In the 18th over, James Vince took down Luke Wood for 15 runs, bringing up a 47-ball half century in the process.  Vince retained strike for the final two overs squeezing a couple more boundaries to place the Giants at 119/9 in 20 overs.

Player of the Match, Sam Curran said, “It is nice to be here for the start of the tournament and it is nice to win on a tricky pitch. It was almost a bit of a Test match out there, trying to trust your defence. I knew they are going go for their best seam bowlers at the top, so had to adjust accordingly.”
Looking back at the defeat, Gulf Giant skipper James Vince said, “It was a tough gig batting first, there seemed to be a bit more moisture in the wicket than the last game. 120 is always going to be tough to defend. We needed a bit of luck going our way on a wicket like that, if we had held onto our chances, it could have been a bit tricky for them.”