MI Emirates Secures Third Straight Win with Four-Wicket Victory over Desert Vipers

MI Emirates registered a composed four-wicket victory over the table toppers Desert Vipers to seal their third straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After a disciplined bowling performance in the first innings, MI Emirates overcame early pressure before Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al-Hasan guided the team to victory.

The Desert Vipers managed to post 124 runs, thanks largely to Dan Lawrence’s gritty 35 off 34 balls. MI Emirates’ bowlers, however, maintained control throughout. Spinner Shakib Al-Hasan delivered an economical spell, taking two wickets for just 14 runs, while Zahoor Khan’s accurate death bowling ensured the Vipers could not accelerate in the closing overs.

Chasing a modest target, MI Emirates faced early challenges in the powerplay. David Payne removed Jonny Bairstow for 5, while Lockie Ferguson claimed Muhammad Waseem for 18, leaving MI Emirates at 35/2. The middle overs saw the team lose further momentum, with Nicholas Pooran’s brief counterattack of 17 off 17 ending when he was trapped LBW by Lawrence. Tom Banton also fell for 10 to Qais Ahmad, keeping the Vipers in the contest.

The tide turned when Pollard launched a decisive assault in the 15th over, smashing two sixes off Ahmad and shifting the momentum firmly in MI Emirates’ favor. Pollard eventually fell to Matiullah Khan, but Al-Hasan held firm at the other end. The veteran all-rounder struck the winning boundary off Matiullah to bring the chase to a close at 124/6 in 17.3 overs, finishing the game with 15 balls to spare.

The Vipers’ innings had started cautiously, with Chris Woakes conceding only 15 runs in three overs and Allah Ghazanfar removing Max Holden for 20. Fakhar Zaman’s 13 runs came off 13 balls, but the Vipers struggled to find boundaries on the slow surface. Al-Hasan then struck twice in the middle overs, removing Zaman and Sam Curran while conceding just eight runs, leaving the Vipers in trouble at 54/4. Lawrence and Jason Roy added 42 runs in 40 balls but could not propel the total past a manageable 124.

Al-Hasan said after the match, “It was a surface that suited the spinners, and the focus was on hitting the right areas consistently. I was able to do that today, which was pleasing. Batting wasn’t easy on this pitch either. With so many powerful hitters in our lineup, someone needed to play the anchoring role, and I was happy to take on that responsibility to make sure we finished the chase.”

Desert Vipers stand-in skipper Sam Curran reflected on the low-scoring contest, commenting, “It was another low-scoring game on a tricky surface. The pitch was slow, and facing a side like MI Emirates, who have high-quality spinners with a lot of variation, made it even tougher. Despite that, I thought our bowlers put in a strong effort. With qualification already secured, we chose to rotate the squad, and what happened to Lockie reinforces the importance of managing workloads.”