The Desert Vipers are out of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) after an eight-wicket loss at the hands of the San Francisco Unicorns in the Qualifier for the Grand Final on Friday night at Providence Stadium.
This means that it is the side from the United States that goes forward to Saturday’s final against the hosts and defending champions the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The Vipers made 122 for seven after being put into bat and the Unicorns replied with 126 for two, winning with 23 balls in hand.
In the Qualifier, the difference between the sides was the Vipers’ inability to overcome the spin threat of the Unicorns, with the Major League Cricket side bowling 17 overs of spin in total.
There were 56 dot balls in the Vipers innings as the batters struggled to rotate the strike, and although five of the top six reached double figures, no one could go on to a substantial score.
For the Vipers, it was a late flourish from Vriitya which allowed them to reach their eventual total as he made an unbeaten 29 from 20 balls, including five fours, and 50 runs came from the final five overs.
The Unicorns needed just 6.15 runs per over to reach the final, but the Vipers battled hard and when Khary Pierre took two wickets in three balls in the fifth over the American team were 29 for two.
But that was the high-water mark for the Vipers as Tim Robinson, the top run-scorer in this season’s competition, and Oliver Peake combined to stitch together the tournament’s highest partnership so far of 97 runs.
Pierre finished with figures of 2-22 to take him to nine wickets in this edition of GSL and he leads the overall wickets tally at the moment.
Here are some quotes from the Vipers Voices post-match podcast featuring Desert Vipers Head Coach Azhar Mahmood:
On the factors that led to the Desert Vipers’ defeat against the San Francisco Unicorns in the GSL 2026 Qualifier: “I think we were not up to the mark. After we lost a couple of early wickets of Andries Gous and Rilee Rossouw, I felt our intent was not there. And we did not build up partnerships. Running between the wickets was not great either. And they (San Francisco Unicorns) bowled really well. They had, I think, 17 overs of spin. They have experienced finger spinners and they bowled wicket to wicket and put us into trouble.
“In a game like this, to give yourself a chance, you have to get to a total of about 170 to 180. But even if can get to 140 to 145, you can give yourself a really good chance to win this game.
“Plus, in the second innings, there was dew and so the ball was coming nicely (onto the bat). And I think Tim Robinson played really well. And I think he shared one of the highest partnership on GSL history. “
On the positives from the tournament and especially some good performances from the UAE players: “I think there were some positives throughout the tournament, like Rilee (Rossouw) played really well. Unfortunately, he missed out in this game. And I think Vriitya Aravind and Sanjay Pahal, our two UAE boys, did a remarkable job for us, especially Vriitya with the way he batted throughout of the tournament. I think that is a plus sign for us.
“And Sanjay – in this last game, he bowled three crucial overs and one power play over. So, that is positive for us. And that is how a game goes – it is another tournament and I think we have to learn from our mistakes.”
Reflecting back on how the tournament went for the Desert Vipers: “(I feel) disappointed at the moment, because we did not qualify for the finals as we played good cricket in patches. We did not play a complete game throughout the tournament. We were good in some aspects of the game, like (sometimes) the bowling was good and (in the same match) our batting was not that good.
“There were a lot of challenges, the conditions were very different, for example in one game we got 200 runs, but they (the Guyana Amazon Warriors) chased down (those) 200 runs, and in the last game (against the Perth Scorchers XI) 110 was difficult to chase down. The nature of the pitches and the conditions are tough here and you have to adapt and learn quickly and move on.
“I think we did not do that well (in this game) and I think we were not proactive in terms of the batting – where the intent was not great. And then, with the ball, you know when the guys (Tim Robinson and Oliver Peake) were playing well we did not change a lot in the bowling and the spinners kept bowling. I think Shadab missed the trick there.”
