The Desert Vipers fell to a 30-run defeat at the hands of table-toppers MI Emirates in Abu Dhabi. But that margin could have been a lot steeper and caused a lot more damage in the net run-rate department had it not been for the fantastic 73-run, eighth-wicket partnership between UAE all-rounder Ali Naseer and left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood.Ali Naseer remained unbeaten on 63 scored off 47 deliveries which was a truly impressive knock scored under immense pressure against the top side in the league, while Wood contributed with an important 30.Also making an impression on debut was leg-spinner Nathan Sowter, who picked up a wicket in his first over.Both Ali and Nathan featured on the latest edition of the Vipers Voices podcast. Ali said he was pleased to have scored runs for the team, but disappointed about the result. Nathan Sowter said that after this defeat, the short upcoming break from action could be just what the team needed to reset and refresh themselves ahead of the final two group games next weekend.Quotes from that interview and from Ali Naseer are included below.Match Scores:
Toss:Desert Vipers won the toss and elected to field first
MI Emirates: 188/5 (20 overs)
Top scorer:Kusal Perera 65 (46)
Desert Vipers: 158/8 (20 overs)
Top Scorer:Ali Naseer 63* (47)
Match Result:MI Emirates won by 30 runs
Player of the Match: Nicholas Pooran 39 (15) & four catchesHere are some quotes from the post-match interview with Desert Vipers’ top scorer Ali Naseer:“When I went to bat, coach James Foster told me to take it as deep as possible and try and build partnerships, and that is what I did. I was happy that I scored some runs, but I was sad to not have (helped with) a win for the team today. Next time if I can help the team win as well, then I will be a lot happier.“MI Emirates has a pretty strong bowling attack, so I was pleased to be able to score some runs against them. I am hoping to take this confidence in the future into my games for the UAE and in the ILT20.“I am lucky to have been involved in the last four games for the Desert Vipers and I am thankful to the management for their trust in me and I am hoping to perform even better for the Desert Vipers.“It is massive to be able to share the dressing room with the likes of Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Alex Hales and Colin Munro.“You learn a lot from them about your own game, whether it is fielding, batting or bowling. I think this experience (of playing with international players) has helped not just myself but all the UAE players who are a part of this tournament, to become better players.”Here are some quotes from the Vipers Voices post-match podcast featuring leg-spinner Nathan Sowter, who made his debut for the team:“It was exciting to get my cap from Wanindu Hasaranga today. It has been awesome to work with the other spinners in the squad (like Shadab Khan and Karthik Meiyappan), and there is so much information we can share from each other and hopefully, we might see some of that later in the tournament if Karthik gets an opportunity.“We have been learning a lot from Carl Crowe (the spin bowling coach) as well, with chats around what we see from Hasaranga and Shadab and how we go about our business.“I got hit for a four on the ball before (I got my first wicket for the team) so I thought I would bowl a little bit tighter, and he (Andre Fletcher) chunked it off the inside half of the bat and it was a good catch by Luke Wood. It was nice to make an impact early and it settled me down quite quickly.“Sometimes you have to take your hat off to players like that (Nicholas Pooran) and say well played. I think we have had that a couple of times in this tournament where we have been at the wrong end of some very good batting. But we still want to get better, and we still need to get smarter with what we do, because we have got very good players in our team as well.“They (Ali Naseer and Luke Wood) both played really well and gave us a chance as we go in to these last two games, where our net run rate is still not smashed out of the ground.“Ali played unbelievably. Hats off to him as a young player (to play that knock) and score sixty odd runs in a pressure situation against a great team. That showed our fighting spirit and hopefully, we can take that into the last two games.“I think the team needs a bit of a break, we need a reset and a couple of training days, just to get the confidence back up. We are not far away but we are not close either and we really need to have a crack at these last two games. If we have that spirit that the boys showed at the end, then we can really make a mark in the tournament.“I think we have to win both our remaining group games if we want to be serious contenders in this tournament. We have to win both games and let the rest of the table work itself out. We just have to look at every game as a knockout game now.”The Desert Vipers are back in action on Friday, February 9, when they take on the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium.Tickets for all Desert Vipers matches are now on sale and can be purchased via the official DP World ILT20 website or at any Virgin Megastore across the UAE.
