The MI Emirates’ captain Nicholas Pooran was in the form of his life, guiding his side over the line against the Gulf Giants in the ILT20 Season 3 at the Dubai International Stadium here on Friday evening. The MI Emirates won the game by five wickets and registered their first season victory in Dubai. Skipper Pooran, who walked away with the Player of the Match award, finished unbeaten on 58 off 37 deliveries and made a huge impact in the match.
Earlier in the evening, the Gulf Giants, put into bat first, were off to a brisk start as openers Gerhard Erasmus and James Vince found the boundaries quite regularly. The duo threatened to go big before Akeal Hosein had Erasmus’ number for 12 in the third over.
That brought Jordan Cox to the middle alongside Vince, and the duo continued to score at a good clip, ending the powerplay with the score at 52/1. Cox and Vince attacked the bad balls, running hard between the wickets and putting on a 51-run stand. Alzarri Joseph though broke the partnership in the 10th over. Tom Curran added 13 to the cause, as Vince marched on and got to his fifty as well.
With the final phase of the innings approaching, Vince, who was motoring along, had Shimron Hetmyer for company, and the Gulf Giants had the perfect platform to tee off.
A couple of eight-run overs were followed up by a 19-run 16th over, as Vince put the long handle to good use and was playing a captain’s knock. Soon after though, the MI Emirates applied the brakes on the Giants, as they claimed the wickets of Hetmyer for 15, and Vince for 86 from 50 deliveries, his highest individual score in the ILT20. Eventually, Tim David and Chris Jordan wrapped up the innings for the Giants, scoring 10 not out each, and taking the total to 173/6 in 20 overs.
In response, the MI Emirates kicked off in fifth gear. Openers Andre Fletcher and Muhammad Waseem scored freely in the early overs, hitting a flurry of boundaries. The opening stand produced 44 runs before Waseem departed for 26 off 10. Tom Banton added 11 to the cause before Aayan Khan made him his second scalp.
Vince then ran out Kusal Perera for one, but Fletcher continued to chip away at the other end. The opener scored 31 and was cast by Blessing Muzarabani, who bowled a fantastic spell of 1 for 17 in 4 overs. The wickets had slowed down the MI Emirates, who had Nicholas Pooran and Bevon Jacobs looking to resurrect the chase.
In the final five overs, the MI Emirates needed 71 runs and had six wickets in hand. Pooran and Jacobs attacked the bowling, hitting some exquisite shots during a 53-run standoff of 33 balls. Jacobs got 18 after which Chris Jordan accounted for him. Captain Pooran though was leading the charge at the other end, with Romario Shepherd happy to play second fiddle.
In the 18th over, Pooran brought up his half-century, and the pressure was on the Giants, as the MI Emirates were well and truly in the box seat. Shepherd added a few lusty blows in the penultimate over, as the MI Emirates went into the final over needing six runs. Pooran smashed the first ball over cow corner for a maximum, to seal a fantastic five-wicket win.
Player of the match Nicholas Pooran said, “I knew I had to get the job done and had to be there till the end. I am more experienced now and know what’s required. The key is to trust yourself to absorb the pressure.”
Gulf Giants’ skipper James Vince said, “We didn’t feel it was that straightforward out there. There was some turn for the slower bowlers, but we dropped a catch, and it ultimately cost us tonight. Tonight hasn’t gone well for us.”
Brief scores:
Gulf Giants 173/6 in 20 overs (James Vince 86; Muhammad Rohid Khan 2-36) lost to MI Emirates 174/5 in 19.1 overs (Nicholas Pooran 58 not out, Andre Fletcher 31, Romario Shepherd 23 not out; Ayan Khan 2-9) by five wickets.
