Desert Vipersbeat defending championsGulf Giantsby six wickets to register their first victory inILT20 2024at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, January 24.

The Vipers rode onShaheen Afridi’s 3/22 to restrict the Giants to 160/6 in their 20 overs. Later, Wanindu Hasaranga’s 19-ball 42 and contributions fromAdam Hose(39),Azam Khan(26 not out) andSherfane Rutherford(20 not out) guided the Vipers to a scintillating win in Dubai.

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

Pakistan’s trio of Shaheen Afridi,Shadab Khanand Azam Khan made their debut for the Vipers while youngAryan Lakrawas also included in the starting XI.

The Vipers got off to a brilliant start as left-arm pacerMohammad Amirdismissed Gulf Giants captain James Vince (1) in the second over of the game.

In the very next over, Shaheen Afridi showed his class as he cleaned up opener Jamie Smith (5).

Reeling at 7/2, Jordan Cox joined Chris Lynn at the crease. The duo stitched an 89-run partnership for the third wicket to bring the defending champions back into the game.

In the 13th over, left-arm fast bowler Tymal Mills provided the much-needed breakthrough for the Vipers as he got rid of Lynn for 63.

Later, the Giants’ Jordan Cox and Shimron Hetmyer added 26 runs before the Vipers bagged two wickets in a span of five deliveries.

Star leg-spinner Hasaranga deceived Hetmyer as he perished for 11 while Afridi later scalped his second wicket of the match as he removed Cox (32) in the 17th over.

Usman Khan and Chris Jordan later provided some resistance for the Giants as they played few shots in the final overs.

In the 19th over, Afridi dismissed Jordan (14) to finish with impressive figures of 3/22. Afridi’s magnificent spell helped the Vipers restrict the Giants to 160/6 in their 20 overs.

Chasing 161, skipper Munro and Alex Hales walked into bat. The duo forged a 14-run opening stand before Munro (6) departed in the third over.

Last match’s top-scorer Adam Hose joined Hales at the crease. The two swashbuckling batters added 27 runs. However, the Vipers later suffered a huge blow as Hales fell for a 20-ball 21.

Batting at number four, all-rounder Hasaranga showed his attacking intent from the very beginning as he slammed the Giants’ bowlers to all parts of the ground. The right-handed batter scored a blitzkrieg 42 from 19 balls, laced with four fours and two maximums to keep the Vipers in the hunt. He later fell to GG pacer Dominic Drakes.

With 62 runs needed off 45 balls, the flamboyant Azam Khan came into bat. The Pakistan batter hammered Blessing Muzarabani for three boundaries to accumulate 14 runs in the 15th over.

At the other end, Hose continued his good form before he departed for a well-made 39.

Sherfane Rutherford and Azam Khan later stitched an unbeaten 23-run stand to help the Vipers chase down the target in 18.4 overs.

With the comfortable win, the Vipers bagged two crucial points and jumped to fourth in the ILT20 2024 standings.

Having secured their first victory, the Vipers will aim to maintain their winning momentum when they face Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Saturday.

Brief Scores

Gulf Giants160/6 in 20 overs (Chris Lynn 63, Jordan Cox 32, Shaheen Afridi 3/22) lost toDesert Vipers162/4 in 18.4 overs (Wanindu Hasaranga 42, Adam Hose 39, Dominic Drakes 2/19) by six wickets

Desert Vipers’ Pakistani contingent is now complete with pace maestro Shaheen Shah Afridi and wicketkeeper Azam Khan landing in Dubai early on Tuesday morning to join Shadab Khan and Mohammad Amir and the rest of the Vipers squad in Dubai.And when Amir and Shadab spoke with the Vipers Voices podcast, they were clear on what attracted them to play in the DP World ILT20.“I think this is the toughest competition because in other leagues across the globe, you have more local players than international players,” said Shadab.“But in this league, you have nine international players so this means, in reality, you are playing an international game. It is very difficult so, competition-wise, this is really tough and you are playing against the best of the world.”Amir added: “As Shadab said there are nine international players competing against one another and it is fun for me and a learning process.“You learn every single day and, in the days to come, this is going to be a tough competition. In this league, you have to be in your toes, and there is no margin of error.”All-rounder Shadab, a genuine three-dimensional cricketer with bat, ball and in the field, has arrived with one of the hot topics of the tournament so far being the use of the Super Sub.Some people have spoken about its introduction putting an end to all-rounders in the format as sides can now draft in an extra specialist with either bat or ball.But Shadab said he felt there was still space for the all-rounder in Twenty20s and, if anything, it was the specialists who were in more danger of being marginalised.“As an all-rounder, you have three chances to perform, either as a batter, a bowler or a fielder,” he said. So, I don’t think (the all-rounder is under threat).“In fact, it is tougher on someone who is only a bowler or a batter. Mohammad Amir added: “This is why I am working on my batting!”Amir played in the side’s opener, the six-wicket loss to the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and he was happy to play down its significance in the overall scheme of the tournament.“It might sound funny, but I think at the start of a tournament it is good if you lose one or two matches because you learn different things rather than if you keep winning, and then end up losing crucial games. If you lose and you learn from it then that is the most important.“Also we have a great all-rounder now that Shadab is here, and Shaheen and Azam are here too, and now I feel our team is complete and it is going to be fun.”Shadab joins a high-quality stable of spin talent at the Vipers and slots into a squad already boasting Sri Lanka’s T20I captain Wanindu Hasaranga and UAE international Karthik Meiyappan.And of the prospect of working alongside Karthik Meiyappan, he said: “I have not seen him much, but I am definitely excited about playing with him and I could learn from him too because the learning process is there. (Fellow leg-spinner Wanindu) Hasaranga is on the team too, and we can all share our experiences and learn from each other too.”The DP World ILT20 got underway in Sharjah on Friday, and the Desert Vipers’ next match is against the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, 24 January.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.

When it comes to championing sustainability and highlighting climate change, the Desert Vipers cricket team are not just walking the talk – they are also drinking the drink.Thanks to a partnership with Bluewater, the Vipers – a franchise that plays in the UAE’s own Twenty20 league, the DP World ILT20 – has jettisoned plastic water bottles in favour of a far more environmentally friendly option.Gone from the dugout area at all Desert Vipers matches are the tall refrigerators containing single-use plastic bottles so common across the cricketing landscape.In their place are state-of-the-art water filtration units provided by Bluewater, who have become the Vipers’ Official Hydration Partner and also a Sustainability Impact Partner.The units, which will be present next to the Vipers dugouts at all three venues – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah – during the tournament, feature warming stripes that visualise the rise in global temperatures since 1850, based on data from a range of expert sources, and work by Professor Ed Hawkins, a Professor of Climate Science at Reading University in the United Kingdom who added: “The world is warming, mainly due to burning fossil fuels. The warming stripes highlight the rapid change in global temperatures and will help start important conversations about the risks from climate change amongst cricket fans across the world.”More information about the Stripes can be foundhere.The players and staff have all been provided with reusable and refillable stainless-steel bottles from which to consume the water.Commenting on the partnership with Bluewater, Desert Vipers Chief Executive Officer Phil Oliver said: “The issues of sustainability and climate change are central to all we stand for at the Desert Vipers and, with that in mind, we knew that our championing these issues that are fundamental to the planet was incompatible with our players and staff obtaining drinks from single-use plastic bottles.”We are delighted to have found a solution through this partnership with Bluewater and we look forward to working with them throughout the tournament.“We are grateful to the management of the DP World ILT20 for their support in allowing us to implement this innovation and we are proud to be trailblazers in this regard.“We look forward, too, to other teams following our lead in the future by joining us in recognising the need to bowl out single-use plastic bottles.”Bluewater has previously worked with a number of sporting events and venues including the 150thOpen Championship golf tournament at St Andrews in Scotland and Formula E, the electric car racing series.Details of Bluewater can be foundhere.Commenting on the partnership, David Noble, the Chief Communications Officer for Bluewater, said: “We could not be happier to be joining forces with the Desert Vipers.“Bluewater and the Desert Vipers share a core belief in the importance of sustainability and that is writ large in this partnership.“Bluewater believes purified drinking water should be produced locally at the point of consumption and that owning and using high-quality refillable bottles is one of the most impactful changes any individual can make towards reducing plastic waste.“Through this agreement, the Desert Vipers will be acting as role models to the countless people around the world who will see what they are doing in this regard, and we are proud to be playing our part to help them spread the message.“The water issued by the water filtration units we are providing is cleaned by a reverse osmosis system, the gold standard when it comes to purifying the water of all known contaminants ranging from pharmaceutical residues to chemicals and toxic metals.“So, the Desert Vipers will be not only setting the standard when it comes to sustainability but they will also be receiving water of the highest quality too.”The partnership with Bluewater is the latest step by the Desert Vipers on the journey towards achieving the goal of a net-zero carbon footprint.The franchise became the first Dubai-based sports organisation to sign up to the UN Sports for Climate Action initiative, committing to reducing its carbon footprint by 50 per cent by 2030 and to that net zero goal by 2040.The Vipers have already partnered with the UK-based Bat For A Chance to ensure that all the squad’s unused and used kit and equipment from season two of the DP World ILT20 will go to people around the globe who need it.And the franchise has also agreed a two-year partnership with The Plastic Pledge, an organisation founded by UAE-based environmentalist and adventurer Toby Gregory that seeks to address the issue of plastic pollution by advocating and promoting behavioural changes among individuals and companies.