Desert Vipers cruise to easy eight-wicket victory over Gulf Giants

A brilliant performance by the Desert Vipers earned them a fifth straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 as they beat the Gulf Giants by eight wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Led by an incredible powerplay by Khuzaima Tanveer, where he grabbed four wickets, Sam Curran and Max Holden’s unbeaten 123-run partnership made light work of the Gulf Giants’ target.

Tanveer finished with 4/10 in the first innings, the best by a UAE bowler in DP World ILT20 history, and also became the first to claim four wickets in the powerplay. His early attack kept the Giants on the backfoot throughout, restricting them to 157/7 in 20 overs. Then, Curran’s unbeaten 67 off 43 balls with five fours and three sixes complemented Max Holden’s 64 runs off 41 balls, as they chased down the target with ease. It was the Vipers’ sixth straight win in a row over the Giants.

Fakhar Zaman (14 off 8) was the first Vipers batter to fall in the second over, courtesy a beautiful ball by Chris Wood. Holden kept the runs flowing, and other than a run out of Hasan Nawaz (7 off 9) in the fourth over, the Vipers looked in control of the run-chase. They finished the powerplay at 53/2.

Curran joined the attack in the 11th over, smashing 19 runs off Liam Dawson’s bowling, including three sixes, considerably reducing the required run-rate. His power-hitting continued off Kyle Mayers’ bowling, completing his half-century in just 32 balls with a lovely four, scoring 18 runs in the 14th over.

This gave the Vipers momentum as Holden joined Curran on the half-century list, in just 31 balls, also with a four. The two batters kept the scoreboard ticking as they found the regular boundaries while also rotating the strike. The likes of Chris Wood and Mark Adair were unable to keep them in check and they smashed an unbeaten 123-run partnership in just 77 balls to chase down the target in 16.5 overs.

Bowling first, Tanveer made early inroads into the Giants’ top order, striking twice in the second over — first removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz (2 off 4) with a superb delivery, then James Vince (0 off 2) edging behind. He picked up another in the fourth, removing the dangerous Pathum Nissanka for 19 off 12. In the sixth over, he struck again as Gerhard Erasmus (4 off 9) nicked to slip. A dominant powerplay left the Giants reeling at 30/4.

Mayers (30 off 24) briefly lifted the innings, taking 18 off David Payne in the ninth over, but Noor Ahmad trapped him LBW to halt the momentum at 67/5 midway through. Asif Khan (36* off 38) held one end, but the Vipers kept control — Tom Curran removed Azmatullah Omarzai (20 off 15), and Noor dismissed Mark Adair (1 off 2) soon after.

Dawson’s late assault rescued the Giants, smashing Lockie Ferguson for 16 in the 19th and following it with a 21-run final over. He finished unbeaten on a blazing 38 off 14 (3 fours, 3 sixes), lifting the total to a competitive 157/7.

Desert Vipers captain Lockie Ferguson said: "Tanveer has been outstanding for us all season. He was brilliant last year too — winning games with the bat — and tonight he was exceptional with the ball. He’s played a lot of cricket recently, his rhythm is spot on, and the ball is coming out beautifully. He’s in a really good space. It was also great to see Max and Sam put together a big partnership.”

Gulf Giants captain James Vince said: “Tanveer bowled exceptionally well, full credit to him. We’ll probably look back and think about what we could have done differently, but we were on the back foot early. We did well to recover to 157... This was the first match of the tournament where we were outplayed from the start. We were simply outplayed today, though the dew was a factor.”

Brief Scores

Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants by eight wickets

Gulf Giants 157/7 in 20 overs (Liam Dawson 38 not out, Asif Khan 36 not out, Kyle Mayers 30, Khuzaima Tanveer 4 for 10, Noor Ahmad 2 for 22)

Desert Vipers 158/2 in 16.5 overs (Sam Curran 67 not out, Max Holden 64 not out, Chris Wood 1 for 27)

Player of the match: Khuzaima Tanveer