Wanindu Hasaranga (55 runs) was the top performer for the Vipers on the night of the ILT20 final.
Desert Vipers lost to Gulf Giants in the ILT20 2023 final at Dubai international cricket stadium on Sunday. The Vipers, one of the most consistent sides of the competition, fought well in the second innings despite posting a below-par score.
In pursuit of a comfortable score of 147 on a tricky surface, Giants' skipper James Vince and Chris Lynn began the quest. However, the pressure of a big final played on the minds of the Giants.
The experienced trio of Tom Curran, Sheldon Cottrell, and Luke Wood made the ball move in the power play as Vince (14) and Colin de Grandhomme (1) departed early. The Giants were reduced to 34 for two after six overs.
Lynn along with Gerhard Erasmus began the counter-attack shortly after, which helped Gulf Giants post 74 runs for two after 10 overs. With an asking rate of 7.50 at the halfway mark, the Giants were in the driver's seat.
Both batters added 73 runs off 62 balls before Wanindu Hasaranga removed Erasmus for a 33-ball 30. Meanwhile, Lynn brought up his fifty and smashed Wood for 18 runs in the 17th over.
Caribbean batter Shimron Hetmyer joined the party as he amassed Curran for 16 runs in the 18th over. This made the equation eight needed off 12 balls to win the final. Lynn finished things off in style with a couple of boundaries in the 19th over.
Lynn’s brilliant knock of 72 runs under pressure awarded Gulf Giants their inaugural ILT20 title. Defending a low score was always going to be tough and the Giants did well by managing Hasaranga's threat as they kept him out exceptionally well, using the sweep shot to great effect and not giving him many wickets.
Put into bat first, Desert Vipers deployed their prominent duo of Alex Hales and Rohan Mustafa to open the innings on the night of the final. Grandhomme took the new ball on a green surface.
The Vipers faced a couple of early setbacks with the departure of Hales (1) and Mustafa (6) in the second over. The newcomers appeared to be struggling on a moving track as the Giants reduced the Vipers to 30 for three after six overs.
Added to the misery of the batting side, Skipper Colin Munro (6) departed for a low score yet again on the most pivotal occasion for the Vipers. This left Sam Billings and Hasaranga reeling at 62 for four after 10 overs.
Billings and Hasaranga joined forces to begin the recovery job from there on. Both batters added 72 runs off 37 balls for the fifth wicket with Hasaranga scoring a well-deserved fifty as the Vipers posted a below-par total of 146 runs for eight after 20 overs.
A largely disciplined performance from the Giants allowed them to keep the Vipers under 150. The Vipers lost three early wickets in the power play. Hales and Munro once again failed and that didn't help their side
A clinical finish from Lynn made the run chase easy as the Vipers bowled economically for the most part of the innings. Hasaranga was the top performer for the side in the final.
Brief scores
Desert Vipers 146/8 in 20 overs (W Hasaranga 55, S Billings 31, C Brathwaite 3/19) lost to Gulf Giants 149/3 in 18.4 overs (C Lynn 72*, G Erasmus 30, W Hasaranga 1/28) by seven wickets.
