The Desert Vipers have won Season 4 of the DP World ILT20 after a sensational 46-run win over MI Emirates in the final at the Dubai International Stadium. 

Put into bat by MI Emirates, the Desert Vipers got off to a flyer, only to be suddenly halted in their tracks with both openers gone in a single over to leave them at 36 for two.

A rebuild was undertaken by captain Sam Curran (74 not out) and Max Holden (41), who shared a crucial 89-run partnership. Max Holden’s departure saw another vital stand, this time worth 57 runs between the captain and Dan Lawrence (25), helping the Vipers to what turned out to be a winning total of 182 for four in 20 overs.

The Vipers bowlers then kept the pressure on by taking regular wickets, bowling MI Emirates out for 136 in 18.3 overs. David Payne and Naseem Shah took three wickets each while Khuzaima Bin Tanveer and Usman Tariq accounted for two wickets apiece.

Sam Curran was declared Player of the Match, and he was also named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the top run-scorer with 397 runs. Sam contributed seven wickets during the season and also led the team in the absence of injured captain Lockie Ferguson.

Match Scores: 

Toss: MI Emirates

Desert Vipers:  182/4 (20 overs)

Top scorer:  Sam Curran 74 not out (off 51 deliveries)

MI Emirates: 136 (18.3 overs)

Top scorer:  Shakib Al Hasan 36 (27)

Match Result: Desert Vipers won by 46 runs

Player of the Match: Sam Curran 

Player of the tournament: Sam Curran

Here are some quotes from the Vipers Voices post-match vodcast and podcast featuring James Foster, Phil Oliver, David Payne and Usman Tariq:

James Foster on finally winning the trophy after missing out on two previous occasions, in Seasons 1 and 3:

“It feels really good, if I am honest, it has been four years in the making. We have been so close two other times, but we kept believing ultimately, and we have been a very consistent side over the four years and to get the victory today means a lot.

“It means a lot to a lot of people actually, obviously not just the players actually doing the hard yards on the field, but everyone behind the scenes who work so hard and do it in such a great way, in such a great manner.

“I am just delighted for the whole franchise, I know that can be a throwaway line at times, but the whole franchise, everyone involved, I am absolutely tickled pink for them.”

James Foster on Sam Curran as a leader, and Player of the Tournament once again, having finished with the same accolade in Season 3:

“He is an amazing man – the character he shows time and time again. The Curran brothers have this desire, this fight and this love for and thirst for massive occasions, which is not an easy thing to do.

“So often he just puts his hand up, and he has got back into the England side and I am delighted for him, he has been excellent in leading, we have had two phenomenal leaders this season in Lockie (Ferguson) and Sam.

“I am absolutely gutted for Lockie as he has worked so hard and he has put so much into this group, for him not to be here today, but I know he has been messaging a lot on the (team’s WhatsApp) group. We gained two great leaders and as a coaching group, we are so lucky to have those two guys leading the show for the franchise.”

Phil Oliver, Desert Vipers CEO on the win:

“It is an amazing feeling and just look at these scenes with friends, families, all the players, all the staff enjoying this moment together. This is what it is all about, and I am so very proud of everyone. It is just a fantastic moment that we all hoped would happen and it was only really right at the end there we thought ‘we are going to do this.’ It is just an amazing feeling, the best you can get in cricket.”

David Payne on the win for the Desert Vipers and what it means:

“Amazing. These sorts of moments do not usually sink in until the next couple of days, but yes, (I am) overjoyed at the moment. I am really, really proud for the Vipers, the whole family outside, on the field, off the field.

“I think it is a real team effort, a real franchise effort from everyone on and off the field, so it feels really nice to be able to do this for the Desert Vipers.”

Desert Vipers Captain Sam Curran believes the Desert Vipers have been the strongest team in the tournament this season – but that counts for nothing if the team cannot lift the trophy.

Speaking to the Vipers Voices podcast a day ahead of the DP World ILT20 final against MI Emirates at the Dubai International Stadium, Sam said he knew that, despite winning a record eight matches in the league stage of the campaign, success or failure still came down to the final match.

“Tomorrow is a huge game for the Vipers and we would love to have our name on the trophy, which I think we would like to say we deserve, but nothing is given to you in this game,” he said. 

“I think we have to use the experience of what we have learnt and hopefully I think this season, winning eight out of ten group games and then having a really strong qualification game in Abu Dhabi, means we have played very well.

“I think we have done all the right things and I really hope tomorrow can be another good performance for us.”

Sam Curran has been a part of several finals in his career, most notably at the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, where he was player of the tournament. And the Vipers captain said he would draw from those experiences ahead of the upcoming final. 

“Tonight I will probably go to bed thinking about those big games, and of how you prepare for them. I think the best thing is to treat it like any other game. I think you have got to enjoy the occasion, but there will be a different feel to it. 

“The guys will be nervous and excited, but when you have played in big games I think you can learn from how you did in those.  Even last year we lost but we still played in a final and that in itself is a huge achievement. 

“I think Moods (Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody) actually mentioned to me the other day that when you get to a final it is about enjoying it. It is a great achievement and hopefully it all falls into place but our team is hugely experienced with so many internationals (players). 

“A couple of the UAE guys have had breakthrough seasons for us. Khuzaima (Bin Tanveer) has been special and he will be excited for tomorrow. I guess it is just an exciting time and I am sure everyone at the Vipers is going to be very excited like I am.”

Sam Curran has had to take up captaincy duties with the exit of regular leader Lockie Ferguson due to injury. He has slipped into the role with great success, and said it was something he was enjoying. 

“I think I have enjoyed it,” he said. “I am trying to read the game as well as I can being an all-rounder. Fozzy (Head Coach James Foster) and Moods (Tom Moody) have let me do my own thing on the field and trusted what I have done, obviously with their help and guidance as well.

“I go a lot on gut feel on the field and I am not a huge planner in terms of worrying about what the pitch is going to do and things like that. 

“I will just try and wake up tomorrow and have a little look at the opposition but hopefully react on what is in front of us. I am sure it will be a full house tomorrow and hopefully a really nice pitch.

“MI Emirates are a great team but I will not be worrying about the opposition; instead, I will just be trying to rely on the way I see the game at various moments and when I am batting, bowling or on the field marshalling the lads. I am excited that we have played so well and are in a good spot.”

“We have got a great group of lads playing on the field and I have had a lot of help (in my captaincy) from guys like Dan Lawrence and other experienced players, like Jason Roy and Fakhar (Zaman), and all the guys who are on the field. So, it has been great and hopefully just that one more tomorrow which we are all excited for.”

MI Emirates captain Kieron Pollard said after his team reached the finals by beating Abu Dhabi Knight Riders that the pressure was now all on the Desert Vipers. Sam Curran believed that was just a pre-final tactic. 

“He is playing a bit of mind games,” laughed Sam. “I know him pretty well and we share some banter. We saw in the qualifier that there was a bit of competitive niggle on the pitch which was great. We both really want to win.  

“I guess we have been the strongest team throughout the group but that does not really matter now. I think we take huge confidence from that, but we will see if I am speaking to you after the game in a good or bad mood and whether the mind games worked.  For now I think it is just all excitement.”

The Desert Vipers take on MI Emirates in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 final on January 4, at Dubai International Stadium from 6:30 pm.

Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody wants his players to focus on the present – namely Qualifier 1 against MI Emirates on December 30, rather than thinking too much about the final that could follow for the side after that match.

Speaking to the Vipers Voices podcast, the ICC Cricket World Cup winner said that, coming up against an impressive MI Emirates side, the Desert Vipers just needed to approach the game in the right way.

“They are a strong side and obviously well led by (Kieron) Pollard, who is one of the most decorated T20 players in the history of the game,” Moody said.

“They are always a tough opponent and they always put together a very strong squad with world-class match winners so we know we need to be at our best with regards to facing them, particularly in an environment where they are very familiar at Abu Dhabi.

“They play most of their games there so that is an advantage for them, to have an understanding of the ground and the surface there. 

“But at the end of the day I think the most important thing is we just concentrate on exactly what we need to be doing to execute our perfect game. You are not really playing the opposition as such; you are playing the ball.”

The Desert Vipers are accustomed to playing under pressure this season, with five of their eight wins coming in the final over. And Moody said the team’s successes in those tight matches was a positive for the players and coaching staff to take forward into Tuesday’s match. 

“I think it is a great sign and I think having a lot of close games is really important,” he said. “If we had won 80 percent of our matches in the group stage and absolutely smashed the opposition every single time I would be more concerned.

“It is nice to be able to have that taste of pressure and knowing how to get over the line when we are in that sort of situation. It gives some important lessons for the team and, more importantly, it builds trust within the playing group for a player to know that if it is not their day, then he can have got trust and faith in others because they have shown that they can do it.”

Cooler temperatures in the United Arab Emirates have led to a change in conditions across venues, and dew has become more noticeable. This means the toss too has become more significant. But Tom Moody said the Vipers had to be able to adapt, even if they lost the toss in upcoming matches.

“I have always taken the view that they (the toss and the dew) are uncontrollable,” he said. “From my perspective, the mindset that we need to be sharing amongst the playing group is that it does not matter.

“Yes, ideally we want to be in a situation where we are chasing runs when there is dew around, and not fielding when the ball is wet and bowling when the ball is wet. 

“But, at the end of the day, that is out of our control. It is on the toss of a coin and if it does not fall in our favour, we cannot afford to have a headspace thinking negatively around the match before a ball is even bowled.

“We just need to adapt. A lot of players have dealt with fielding and bowling with heavy dew conditions over their careers. It is a case of taking learnings from those experiences and applying them in the finals series.”

The Desert Vipers go into the play-offs as the most successful team this season, with eight wins out of ten played in the league stage. But Moody said the switch to the finals series meant a new approach would be necessary,

“I think it is all about drawing on the positive experiences we have had over the last three or four weeks and learning from the good and the bad. because I do not think we have played our very best cricket throughout this tournament,” he said. 

“We have certainly played more consistently as the tournament has unfolded but we can constantly improve and I think the focus on improvement is more important than worrying about the fact that we have got to win to secure a spot in the last day of the tournament at the grand final.

“I think once you get too caught up looking at the consequences of winning and losing finals or matches, you can find yourself thinking too negatively with your approach and I think if we just take that positive outlook and draw on the experience we have had, concentrate on just trying to put together our perfect game, both with bat, ball and in the field, and if we do that then we should be in good hands.”

And the man who was twice part of Australia squads that won the ICC Cricket World Cup, in 1987 and1999, said the key to winning a trophy was to not think about the silverware. 

“You do not look at the prize, as simple as that,” said Moody. “Yes, we all want to be successful. Yes, we all want to win trophies but, at the end of the day, if you get too obsessed with that mission of winning a trophy, you end up falling short of trying to achieve that.

“We have had a couple of bites at the cherry with regards to winning finals and we have fallen short but I do not think that was down to us getting too focused or obsessed with trying to win. 

“I think that it was just that we did not play our best cricket on the day. So, that needs to be our focus (starting with the match against MI Emirates). Individually, the players need to look at how they can bring their best game to the day and then make those adaptations around conditions or the opposition as quickly as they possibly can.”

The Desert Vipers next play against MI Emirates in Qualifier 1 on December 30, at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Stadium, starting at 6:30pm.

Pakistani left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar says he is excited to join the Desert Vipers DP World ILT20 campaign and is looking forward to playing a significant role for the team as the business end of the tournament commences.

Zafar has joined the Vipers as a replacement for Afghanistan left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad and linked up with the squad ahead of the team’s final league game against Sharjah Warriorz on Friday. 

He spoke to the Vipers Voices podcast about the challenges of joining the team so late in the tournament with the play-offs about to start but was positive about the opportunity before him. 

The player said he had just finished playing List A cricket in Pakistan and was on his way back to England when he received the offer from the Desert Vipers. 

“I was at the airport waiting for my flight and then I got the text from Tom Moody,” he said. “When I heard he wanted me to come here (to the UAE) I was so excited I did not even ask how many games were left (in the tournament).

“I am pretty lucky to get this chance to play for the Vipers as I just finished my tournament (in Pakistan). I spoke with Tom after he asked if wanted to come and I responded by saying I would love to (join the Vipers).

 “He (Tom Moody) is a wonderful man and I feel like he is probably one of the top coaches I have worked with in my life because he keeps you relaxed and that helps to bring out the best out of your skill, whatever you have to offer. 

“My experience at the Oval (Invincibles during the latest edition of The Hundred in England and Wales) was of a relaxed environment whenever you come (to work) and especially when Moods (Tom Moody) is there, so it is very exciting (for me to work with him again).”

Zafar arrives off the back of List A cricket in Pakistan, and that followed an excellent season in English county cricket for Middlesex where he took 38 wickets in first-class cricket, as well as 14 wickets in the T20 Blast.

Now based in England, Zafar explained why he had headed to Pakistan in the winter months: “It is pretty cold in England right now, so Middlesex actually encourages you to go and take up opportunities around the world to play and get some games in. So, I decided to go out there to Pakistan and play some white ball cricket.

“That helps me to keep bowling while also getting a different experience,” he added.

Having played county cricket since 2021, along with his previous experience of representing Pakistan at the highest level, Zafar Gohar said he had come into the Vipers squad with many of the players already known to him.

“I know almost everyone because I played with a couple of guys at Oval Invincibles and a couple of guys in county cricket as well. So, for me, fitting in was not really a problem.”

Looking ahead to the Desert Vipers campaign in the finals, Zafar Gohar said he hoped to have the opportunity to bowl in the power play, a role he was familiar with from his time with Middlesex. 

“Richard Johnson, the Middlesex head coach, told me three or four months before the (latest) season began that he wanted me to bowl with the new ball.  

“I actually bowled mostly in the power play this year. I really enjoyed that role and had such a good experience of doing that.”

The Desert Vipers next play against the MI Emirates in Qualifier 1 on December 30 in Abu Dhabi. MI Emirates’ final appearance in the league stage saw them defeat Dubai Capitals by a hefty margin in Abu Dhabi, and their spin attack was highly effective. 

Zafar Gohar said he was hoping to have the chance to play for the Vipers in Abu Dhabi, and said the recent presence of dew in the night games of the DP World ILT20 was not a major concern.

“We usually wet the ball in training and then try to bowl with the wet ball (to get used to bowling in conditions where dew plays a role). I mean, it happens quite a lot around the world, especially if you are playing night games. 

“So, I feel like every cricketer nowadays is pretty used to doing that. So you have got to plan and then try and execute it.”

Despite only linking up with the Vipers ahead of the match against the Sharjah Warriorz, Zafar said he was already a fan of the franchise and hopes to come back for a longer period of time.

“I would love to play a full season for the Vipers,” he said. “I have heard great things about the Vipers from all the players who have been playing here. I also spoke to a few players after I signed (and they say the same thing). 

“It is such a great franchise. I would love to come back again and play for them.”