ILT20: MI Emirates lose to Dubai Capitals despite Kieron Pollard's brilliance

Skipper Kieron Pollard’s belligerent 37-ball 86 went in vain as the MI Emirates went down to Dubai Capitals by 16 runs for their first defeat of the DP World ILT20 in a high-scoring affair at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Chasing a mammoth 223, MI Emirates, the experienced pair of Kieron Pollard and Andre Fletcher (35 off 34 balls) took charge of the proceedings to raise the hopes of the side with a valuable 118-run third wicket stand, and towards the end, Najibullah Zadran lit up the stadium with late order fireworks to reduce the margin.

MI Emirates could not quite find the momentum they were expecting during the chase and got off to a sluggish start with 25 runs from the first four before losing their top three batters — Muhammad Waseem (10), Will Smeed (13) and Nicholas Pooran (0) — in a span of just a single run.

Joining hands at 26/3, Andre Fletcher put the anchor on at one end, while Pollard went on the offensive with a quality filled half century off 27 balls. Fletcher stayed till the end and witnessed Zadran’s fireworks against Chamika Karunaratne from the other end, before the side fell 16 runs short of the total.

Samit Patel, who replaced Dwayne Bravo, in the only change for MIE, also chipped in with a 6-ball 18.

Earlier, Dubai Capitals skipper Rovman Powell smashed a 41-ball 97, and opener Joe Root getting a second successive half century, to help the team post 222/3, the highest total of the tournament, so far, after being asked to bat.

The Capitals’ innings got the right platform to flourish from the blistering 78-run start from Root and fellow Robin Uthappa until Fazalhaq Farooqi used his bag of tricks to dismiss the Indian right-hander for a 23-ball 26.

Coming in at No.3, Powell dispatched leg-spinner Imran Tahir for two sixes before his opposite number Kieron Pollard almost got him against the run of play. The Jamaican right-hander capitalised on the reprieve by racing to a fifty off 22 balls.

Meanwhile, Root, who began his knock by taking on Patel for two sixes and a four off consecutive balls, raced to a 34-ball half century, as his second-wicket partnership with Powell began to build.

Zahoor Khan got the wicket of Root to end of the 119-run second wicket stand, but some late hitting from Powell took the Dubai Capitals to 222/3.

Gulf Giants win again

Aggressive knocks from Chris Lynn and Shimron Hetmyer helped Gulf Giants chase down Desert Vipers’ mammoth score of 195 for 4 to extend their winning streak.

Gulf Giants recorded their fourth successive victory through a five-wicket win while Desert Vipers crashed to their first defeat despite Alex Hales’ scintillating knock of 99 off 57 balls with 10 boundaries and five sixes.

Lynn cracked 71 off 42 balls with eight boundaries and three sixes while Hetmyer smashed 70 off 35 balls with five boundaries and five sixes to win the match with three balls to spare.

“We have to remember what we are doing well and continue to keep doing that in the future," Hetmyer said.

"My mind was clear when I walked into bat. I thought that if we could get 40 runs in the powerplay then we would get to our target. I knew that anything could have happened with just one good partnership.”

Meanwhile, Desert Vipers’ head coach James Foster praises the rival bowlers after the match.

“The Gulf Giants bowled exceptionally well during the last four overs of our innings. They used the big boundary to their advantage. I thought Gleeson was outstanding," Foster said.

"We showed high levels of quality today, but ended up on the wrong side of the result. They put us under pressure with the bat and at times you just have to tell the opposition well played.”

Brief scores:

Dubai Capitals beat MI Emirates by 16 runs.

Dubai Capitals 222 for three (Rovman Powell 97, Joe Root 82, Fazalhaq Farooqi one for 39)

MI Emirates 206 for five (Kieron Pollard 86, Hazrat Luqman two for 24)

Player of Match: Rovman Powell

Gulf Giants beat Desert Vipers by five wickets.

Desert Vipers 195 for 4 in 20 overs (Rohan Mustafa 23, Alex Hales 99, Colin Munro 39, Sherfane Rutherford 27 not out)

Gulf Giants 196 for 5 in 19.3 overs (Chris Lynn 71, Shimron Hetmyer 70, David Wiese 22 not out; Sheldon Cottrell 2 for 24)

Player of Match: Shimron Hetmyer

Today's match

Gulf Giants vs Sharjah Warriors

Dubai International Stadium

6 pm UAE Time

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