158/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.90
159/4 (20.0)
CR : 7.95
Desert Vipers won by 1 run 🏆
Player of the Match
David Payne
4/29
11:44 PM IST and 10:14 PM Local Time : If you are a Desert Vipers fan and turn on the match to see them to do well, then you must have had a consecutive couple of good days. They have played two crunch games and brought the victory from the jaws of defeat within a gap of 24 hours or so. Desert Vipers have won the game against MI Emirates today by just a run.
Desert Vipers came to bat first and got off to a good start. Fakhar Zaman and Andries Gous both got good starts. Gous got retired hurt on 21 off 15 but Fakhar continued his innings. He got out for 35 with the team score of 90 on the board. Max Holden didn't have his best day with the bat. Although he top scored with 42, taking 37 balls to get there was enough for the management to retire him out. Skipper Sam Curran scored a run-a-ball 19 and some late impetus from Dan Lawrence and Shimron Hetmyer took the team score 159/4 at the end of their 20 overs.
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar took 2 wickets for 32 runs. Fazalhaq Farooqi took the wicket of Hetmyer.
MI Emirates came to bat and lost Jonny Bairstow cheaply for 6. Muhammad Waseem and Tom Banton then took the charge. They added 42 runs for the second wicket before Waseem got out for 24. The Emirates got slow when Banton and Pooran were batting. Pooran took 29 balls to score 31 and Banton took as many balls to score 34.
However Kieron Pollard and Tajinder Singh Dhillon scored runs in a jiffy and brought the equation down to 17 off 2 overs. David Payne came to bowl the penultimate over and changed the game. Payne got the big wickets of Shepherd, Pollard and Woakes and conceded just a solitary run to make it 16 from the final over.
Khuzaima Bin Tanvir came to bowl the final over and bowled first three balls well. With 12 needed from 3 balls, Rashid smacked him for a maximum and a boundary. In the last ball, Khuzaima beat Rashid with a slower ball and Vriitya Aravind ran Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar out and earned the victory for his side by just 1 run.
David Payne took 4 wickets for 29 runs. Khuzaima Bin Tanvir finished with 2/34. Lockie Ferguson and Sam Curran took a wicket each.
Desert Vipers came to bat first and got off to a good start. Fakhar Zaman and Andries Gous both got good starts. Gous got retired hurt on 21 off 15 but Fakhar continued his innings. He got out for 35 with the team score of 90 on the board. Max Holden didn't have his best day with the bat. Although he top scored with 42, taking 37 balls to get there was enough for the management to retire him out. Skipper Sam Curran scored a run-a-ball 19 and some late impetus from Dan Lawrence and Shimron Hetmyer took the team score 159/4 at the end of their 20 overs.
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar took 2 wickets for 32 runs. Fazalhaq Farooqi took the wicket of Hetmyer.
MI Emirates came to bat and lost Jonny Bairstow cheaply for 6. Muhammad Waseem and Tom Banton then took the charge. They added 42 runs for the second wicket before Waseem got out for 24. The Emirates got slow when Banton and Pooran were batting. Pooran took 29 balls to score 31 and Banton took as many balls to score 34.
However Kieron Pollard and Tajinder Singh Dhillon scored runs in a jiffy and brought the equation down to 17 off 2 overs. David Payne came to bowl the penultimate over and changed the game. Payne got the big wickets of Shepherd, Pollard and Woakes and conceded just a solitary run to make it 16 from the final over.
Khuzaima Bin Tanvir came to bowl the final over and bowled first three balls well. With 12 needed from 3 balls, Rashid smacked him for a maximum and a boundary. In the last ball, Khuzaima beat Rashid with a slower ball and Vriitya Aravind ran Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar out and earned the victory for his side by just 1 run.
David Payne took 4 wickets for 29 runs. Khuzaima Bin Tanvir finished with 2/34. Lockie Ferguson and Sam Curran took a wicket each.
Welcome to the post match presentation
Dispatch of the Day - Tajinder Singh Dhillon
Kieron Pollard (MI Emirates Captain): "Yes, obviously it will hurt we were again close to win. The last game was where we snuck over the line and probably should not have won but this time it was there to be won. We should have batted well in the last 5 overs.
We needed run a ball in the last three overs and then we lost from there, this shows you need to fight till the end in cricket. The surface is a surface, No complaints! It had something for both the batters and bowlers.
If you adapt to the conditions, you can score runs, need to play with field and make use of the big outfield. We lost four wickets with guys hitting towards the big boundary in the deep and that costed us the game."
We needed run a ball in the last three overs and then we lost from there, this shows you need to fight till the end in cricket. The surface is a surface, No complaints! It had something for both the batters and bowlers.
If you adapt to the conditions, you can score runs, need to play with field and make use of the big outfield. We lost four wickets with guys hitting towards the big boundary in the deep and that costed us the game."
Lockie Ferguson (Desert Vipers Captain): "It’s still early in the tournament, so it’s hard to say too much. We’ve had a couple of tight games — not ideal — but it’s good to get over the line tonight. The boys hung in there. The communication among the bowlers has been excellent, one of our big strengths from last season that we’ve carried forward. We saw the cross-seamers gripping, and that helped us pick up wickets, especially Payne, who held things together.
Exactly — Payne’s the most experienced when it comes to using that big boundary, taking the pace off, and getting the cross-seam to stand up, so I’m really proud of him.
And about Aravind — absolutely. That’s the thing with Vriitya: he plays each ball on its merit. Mistakes happen, but this was a huge moment for him. He was outstanding for us last night as well, and again he stepped up with a handy cameo. Really happy for him."
Exactly — Payne’s the most experienced when it comes to using that big boundary, taking the pace off, and getting the cross-seam to stand up, so I’m really proud of him.
And about Aravind — absolutely. That’s the thing with Vriitya: he plays each ball on its merit. Mistakes happen, but this was a huge moment for him. He was outstanding for us last night as well, and again he stepped up with a handy cameo. Really happy for him."
Player of the Match - David Payne
David Payne (Player of the Match): "Well, we are making a regular thing to win it in pressure situations. It was a brilliant game with ups and downs throughout. Rashid Khan made it a good game in the end. The communication is clear among our bowling pack.
Sam had told me that the cross seam was holding up a bit and few balls were skidding as well and the nature of the wicket made it difficult to play the cross batted shots. The plan was simple to bowl according to the plans."
Sam had told me that the cross seam was holding up a bit and few balls were skidding as well and the nature of the wicket made it difficult to play the cross batted shots. The plan was simple to bowl according to the plans."
Smallest Margin of Victory by Runs in ILT20:
1- Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates (Dubai, 2025)
1- Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 2025, TODAY)
3- Gulf Giants vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Dubai, 2024)
4- MI Emirates vs Sharjah Warriorz (Sharjah, 2025)
5- Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates (Dubai, 2024)
1- Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates (Dubai, 2025)
1- Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 2025, TODAY)
3- Gulf Giants vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Dubai, 2024)
4- MI Emirates vs Sharjah Warriorz (Sharjah, 2025)
5- Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates (Dubai, 2024)
That marks the end of our coverage from the 9th T20 match of ILT20 2025/26 between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates. Vipers have kept their nerve and won a last ball thriller. They have four victories from four games and are ruling the season being at the helm of the points table.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Hiren Kumar and Deepak Prakash and the scorer/analyst of this match Yogesh Kumar. Good night.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Hiren Kumar and Deepak Prakash and the scorer/analyst of this match Yogesh Kumar. Good night.