Desert Vipers’ spirited performance went in vain as they lost toDubai Capitalsby four wickets in a nail-bitingInternational League T20(ILT20)2024clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, February 1.

The Vipers rode onRohan Mustafa’s 33-ball fifty, along with contributions fromAlex Hales(49) andAdam Hose(35 not out) to post 169/6 in their 20 overs. In reply, Ben Dunk’s 59, Rovman Powell’s 40 and Jason Holder’s unbeaten 12-ball 23 guided the Capitals to a thrilling victory.

Earlier, Dubai Capitals captain David Warner won the toss and put the Vipers into bat.

Rohan Mustafa and Alex Hales opened the proceedings as the duo got the Vipers off to a blitzkrieg start.

Mustafa hammered Scott Kuggeleijn for back-to-back sixes while Hales joined the party to slam the Kiwi pacer for another maximum to accumulate 19 runs in the third over.

The two opening batters continued their dominance as they amassed 17 runs off Jason Holder’s second over and followed it up by scoring 14 runs in the next over to bring up Vipers’ fifty.

Meanwhile, Mustafa played some scintillating shots in the next few overs to notch up his half-century off just 32 balls. His brilliant knock included four fours and three sixes.

In the ninth over, Akif Raja dismissed Mustafa to end an incredible 81-run opening partnership.

CaptainColin Munrojoined Hales at the crease. The pair stitched a 35-run stand for the second wicket before Hales departed one short of his fifty in the 14th over.

The Vipers then suffered massive blows as they lost wicketkeeper-batterAzam Khan(0), Munro (16) andSherfane Rutherford(0) in quick succession.

In the final few overs,Adam Hose’s late cameo of unbeaten 35 off 17 balls helped the Vipers post a fighting total on the board.

Defending 169,Shaheen Afridiprovided an early breakthrough as he removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz (4) in the third ball of the chase.

With the scalp, Afridi now has the most wickets (46) in the first over of the innings in T20 cricket.

The left-arm pacer continued his impressive spell as he dismissed opposition skipper Warner (4) in his second over.

The Vipers later bagged their third wicket as star leg-spinnerWanindu Hasarangabamboozled Sam Billings (6) to reduce the Capitals to 56/3.

At the other end, Ben Dunk played a counter-attacking knock to bring up his fifty.

In the 10th over, Mustafa got the huge wicket of Dunk (59) to put the Vipers in a great position.

Struggling at 80/4, Rovman Powell joined Sikandar Raza at the crease. The duo added 41 runs beforeMohammad Amirremoved Raza for 22.

Hasaranga later scalped his second wicket of the match to get rid of Rahul Chopra.

With 39 runs required off 26 balls, Jason Holder walked out to bat. Despite some good bowling, Holder and Powell forged a match-winning partnership to guide the Capitals to their third win in ILT20 2024.

Having suffered their third defeat, the Vipers will aim to quickly bounce back when they lock horns with defending champions Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, February 3.

Brief Scores

Desert Vipers169/6 in 20 overs (Rohan Mustafa 50, Alex Hales 49, Sikandar Raza 1/28) lost toDubai Capitals170/6 in 20 overs (Ben Dunk 59, Rovman Powell 40*, Wanindu Hasaranga 2/25) by four wickets

The Desert Vipers pulled off a sensational last ball victory over top-of-the-table side MI Emirates in the team’s fifth match of the DP World ILT20.In the most dramatic match of the season so far, it was down to Shaheen Shah Afridi, who, along with Luke Wood, raced to complete the three runs required off the final delivery giving the Vipers a two-wicket win. Mohammad Amir was declared Player of the Match for his 3-26.Speaking to the Vipers Voices podcast after the win, Head Coach James Foster said it was a scrappy win, but it provided a much-needed confidence boost to the team that had lost three of their four previous games. Quotes from that interview and from Vipers bowler Mohammad Amir are included below.Match Scores:Toss:Desert Warriors won the toss and elected to field first.MI Emirates: 149-9(20 overs)Top scorer: Tim David 28 (14)Desert Vipers: 150-8(20 overs)Top scorer:Sherfane Rutherford 35 (22)Top wicket-takers:Mohammad Amir 3-26, Matheesha Pathirana 2-32, Luke Wood 2-32Match Result:Vipers won by two wickets.Player of the Match: Mohammad Amir 3-26Here are some quotes from a post-match interview with Desert Vipers’ Player of the Match Mohammad Amir:“I am happy with my performance, having taken three wickets, but what is most important to me is that the team won the match. Winning the Player of the Match award is a good boost for my confidence, and I hope that I can continue this form.“I believe that bowling is successful in partnerships, and I am really enjoying bowling with Shaheen Shah Afridi, and I think he is enjoying this experience too. What is most important is communication, and after an over gets completed, we give each other key pieces of information, about whether the ball is gripping, and so on, and this is very helpful.“Shaheen played a very sensible innings, and he has been working hard on his batting. I think this was the best match of the tournament so far, even though we have not been playing very good cricket overall, this was an interesting game.”Here are some quotes from the Vipers Voices post-match podcast featuring Desert Vipers Head Coach James Foster:“It was an interesting days play, but ultimately, we got a win, and it is exactly what we needed at this moment in time. Delighted to get a victory, against a very good side in Mumbai; It was a scrappy win at the end, but we got there.“(With ten runs need off the last over) My heart was in the balance. It was a tough batting innings to watch if I am being honest. I had a few mixed emotions in there, but ultimately Shaheen did the job there on the last ball.“I guess a win is a win, and the knock-on effect is going to be huge with that confidence (for the team). It was a scrapy win in the end. At half time the thinking was you just need to play relatively well, and we should cruise home. But cricket is a funny thing, and it can be a different beast at different times.“In a couple of performances this year, we were in decent positions, and we let it slide. It could easily have been like that today, so getting over the line was really an important factor today and it gives that little bit of confidence to the group.“We have got a quality team and we have not quite fired at full throttle, and sometimes you do not have to, but today was important.”The Desert Vipers are back in action on Thursday February 1 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.

Desert Vipersrode on an impressive bowling performance followed bySherfane Rutherford’s blitzkrieg knock to beat MI Emirates by two wickets in a thrilling International League T20 (ILT20) 2024 encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, January 30.

Star pacerMohammad Amirbagged three wickets whileLuke WoodandMatheesha Pathiranascalped two wickets each to restrict MI Emirates to 149/9 in their 20 overs. In reply, Sherfane Rutherford’s quick-fire 35 along with contributions fromWanindu Hasaranga(26),Azam Khan(20),Rohan Mustafa(18) andShaheen Afridi(17 not out) guided the Vipers to a dramatic win in Dubai.

Earlier, Desert Vipers captainColin Munrowon the toss and opted to field first.

The Vipers got off to a brilliant start as star left-arm pacer Amir dismissed opener Kusal Perera in the second ball of the game.

Andre Fletcher joined Muhammad Waseem at the crease. The MI Emirates duo added 33 runs for the second wicket before Luke Wood removed Waseem for 19.

Wood continued his impressive form as he cleaned up Fletcher (18) in the sixth over.

Young Matheesha Pathirana then inflicted more misery on MI Emirates as he bagged the crucial wicket of opposition skipper Nicholas Pooran (17) courtesy of a sensational catch by Ali Naseer.

Reeling at 58/4, Ambati Rayadu and Akeal Hosein later forged a crucial partnership for MI Emirates.

In the 15th over, Pathirana deceived Hosein (24) with a slower delivery to end their 49-run stand.

The Vipers continued to pick wickets at regular intervals as Shaheen Afridi removed Rayadu (23) in the very next over.

Batting at number seven, Tim David showed some resistance as he slammed two fours and two sixes.

Amir then produced an impactful final over as he dismissed David (28), and Trent Boult (0) followed by a run-out to restrict MI Emirates to 149/9 in their 20 overs.

In reply, Rohan Mustafa was promoted up the order to open the innings with Alex Hales.

Mustafa took the attack to the opposition as he clobbered Boult for two fours and one six.

Despite a decent start, the Vipers suffered massive blows as Mustafa (18), Hales (3), Adam Hose (0) and Munro (4) departed in quick succession inside the powerplay.

Flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan walked into bat and quickly hammered Fazalhaq Farooqi for back-to-back fours to provide some momentum. Hasaranga also joined the party as he played some scintillating shots.

Hasaranga and Azam added 34 runs before the latter fell to Rohid Khan for a 12-ball 20.

In the 12th over, the Vipers lost their sixth wicket as Hasaranga departed for 26.

Sherfane Rutherford joined Ali Naseer at the crease. The two southpaws added 18 runs before Naseer perished for 14.

Meanwhile, Rutherford played an incredible knock as he slammed a few exquisite shots to keep the Vipers in the game.

The Caribbean batter’s blitzkrieg 35 off 22 balls came to an end as he fell to Dwayne Bravo.

In the final few overs, Afridi and Wood played some smart cricket as they stitched a match-winning 21-run stand to guide the Vipers to their second win of the tournament.

With the win, the Vipers jumped to fifth in the standings with four points from five matches.

Last season’s finalists will now aim to continue their winning momentum against Dubai Capitals in their upcoming fixture at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Brief Scores

MI Emirates149/9 in 20 overs (Tim David 28, Akeal Hosein 24, Mohammad Amir 3/26) lost toDesert Vipers150/8 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 35, Wanindu Hasaranga 26, Muhammad Rohid Khan 3/21) by two wickets