Dubai, UAE (July 25, 2026) – The Desert Vipers had a heartbreaking night at the office after the Guyana Amazon Warriors recovered from being 95 for 7 to chase down the franchise’s record-breaking total of 205 in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL), winning by two wickets with three balls in hand.
It meant a second defeat in the tournament for the Vipers following on from their 38-run loss to the Lahore Qalandars on Friday and nothing less than two wins against the San Francisco Unicorns and Perth Scorchers will be enough to secure a place in the play-offs.
The sickening aspect of the loss was that the Vipers did plenty right after being asked to bat first following a second loss of the toss in the tournament.
The team became the first side in GSL history to pass 200, posting 205 for 6 from their 20 overs and surpassing the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ previous record of 196, made in season two’s final against Rangpur Riders.
Rilee Rossouw was central to the record total, coming in at number three and batting until the final over. He scored 61 from 48 balls, hitting five fours and a six, and featured in three key partnerships: 49 with Kyle Mayers, 45 from 26 balls with Bevon Jacobs, and 47 from just 22 deliveries with Vriitya Aravind.
But the Warriors found their match-winner in Player of the Match Romario Shepherd, who struck 52 from just 21 balls, and shared a 91-run stand with Mohammad Nabi to set up victory for the defending champions.
Here are some quotes from the Vipers Voices post-match podcast featuring Desert Vipers wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind.
On a disappointing defeat to the Guyana Amazon Warriors despite being in a really good position
“I think it was a really good game of cricket. I think it kept going like a pendulum, it kept swinging. We were favourites and then they were favourites, then we became favourites again.
“And in the end, the partnership between (Mohammad) Nabi and (Romario) Shepherd took the game away from us. But there were a lot of positives for us and I think, if things were just five percent different, we could have won the game pretty easily.
“The results have not gone our way in the past two games, but I think there are plenty of positives. I think we need to take the positives forward and just work on a bit of execution. I think that if we work on that, I am sure that we will turn things around.
“That was a very close game. That could have gone either way if things were different. So I think we just take the positives and hopefully win the next two games and that would put us in a decent situation in the tournament going forward.”
On the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ depth in batting
“I think with the Warriors we all know that they bat pretty deep. They are never out of the game because you get (Romario) Shepherd in at nine and you get Pretorius at 10. So we knew they bat pretty deep.
“So, we were pretty prepared for it and we knew that we had not won that game until we actually won it because of how deep they bat. And so we were always on the game.
“And I think Shepherd just had a day out and it does happen in T20 cricket where one person has a day out and it can change the result.”
On Rilee Rossouw’s innings of 61 for the Vipers
“It was a top innings, I think, especially on a surface like this where wickets were constantly falling and while everyone was getting starts, but we had to bat around someone. I think Rilee put his hand up and he was there until the end. I think that made everyone else’s job pretty easy to bat around him.
“And I think that is what experience does. He has played so much cricket and he knows exactly what needs to be done. And that was a phenomenal innings. It was very good to watch as well.”
On playing the role of a finisher and scoring 28 not out from just 11 deliveries and sharing a partnership of 47 with Rilee Rossouw
“It is a very different role to finish the game. I have always been a top-order batsman, but I have cherished that role of a finisher since I have been a part of the Vipers.
“From the start of January I have been working hard on both my game as a top-order batsman and as a finisher. I know I am probably not the biggest hitter of the ball, but it is about how I can get boundaries and help the team achieve as many runs as possible in the death overs.
“I think batting with Rilee just makes things easier. He did notice something at the start of my innings where he told me I was looking to play too square of the wicket. He has seen me playing the nets and thought I was much better off looking to hit straight. I think that contributed massively because he was spot on with it. I think he gave me a couple of tips and it actually worked really well.
“And to be there with Rilee until the end was good for the team, I reckon.”
The Desert Vipers will next face the San Francisco Unicorns on Monday, July 27, at 7pm local time.
