Unbeaten fifties from Dasun Shanaka and Sikandar Raza led Dubai Capitals to an impressive 7-wicket victory over MI Emirates in the 29th match of the ILT2O.
Chasing MI Emirates’ 164 for 7, Dasun Shanaka and Sikander Raza scored unbeaten 58 and 56 off 36 balls respectively. Shanaka hit 5 fours and 3 sixes while Raza hit 4 fours and 4 sixes. Dubai Capitals, who built a partnership of 122 runs without loss in 11.3 overs for the fourth wicket, confirmed the victory with 11 balls to spare.
Dubai Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl. MI Emirates’ opener Andre Fletcher hit two consecutive boundaries off Fred Klaassen in the first over but fell to the first ball of the second over from Jake Ball edging to wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa for 9. One-drop Bas de Leede followed falling leg before to Ball’s fourth delivery of the same over for 2.
Tucker, who was on 21, was run out by Sikandar Raza when he missed a paddle sweep. At the end of the powerplay, MI Emirates were 58 for 3.
Adam Zampa was introduced as usual for the seventh over. Wasim hit Raza over midwicket for his second six in the eighth over but was clean-bowled by Zampa in the ninth over as he attempted a slog sweep for 31 runs.
At the halfway stage, MI Emirates lost 4 wickets for 77 runs. Dan Mousley struck out with 3 runs. Former west indies white ball captain Pooran played some aggressive shots and crossed the 100-run mark in the 14th over. Zampa, who returned for the 17th over, was welcomed by Pooran with a six over square leg, but he was out for 43 off the fourth ball of the over.
Jordan Thompson hit 2 sixes off Klaassen in the 19th over to take the score past the 150 mark. On the first ball of the last over, Thompson was bowled straight to Powell for 16 at mid-off. In the last five overs, MI Emirates scored 48 runs for the loss of 3 wickets and scored 164 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs.
Opening the bowling for MI Emirates, Brad Weale conceded just 4 runs in his first over and Craig Overton conceded just one run in his second over. In the sixth over, Uthappa was bowled out for 29 runs by giving a catch to Overton.
At the end of the power play, Dubai Capitals scored 44 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. Munsey was also out early with a reverse sweep to left-arm spinner Zaheer Khan. Two balls later he took the prize wicket of Rowman Powell.
Sikandar Raza and Dasun Shanaka scored 62 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 10 overs. With 103 needed from the last ten overs, their partnership strengthened and the runs began to flow easily.
Dubai Capitals needed 37 from the last five overs after Shanaka Jordan Thompson was punished for 15 runs, which included a six and two fours. Shanaka scored a half-century in 32 balls and the two registered a century partnership in 60 balls.
Raza also reached his half-century with a 34-ball six off Thompson. They confirmed the victory of their team in 18.1 overs.
Speaking about their performance, Dubai Capitals’ Jake Ball said,
“We knew that we needed to put all the pressure on our opposition after Sharjah lost last night. It’s good to have the points on the board. We are currently at the fourth spot and hopefully, we’ll be there at the end of tomorrow’s game.”
Meanwhile, Muhammad Waseem of MI Emirates said,
“If Pooran and I batted for a few more overs then we could’ve put more runs on the board. We lost wickets at the wrong time. That’s why we were 25-30 runs short in the end.”
Although MI Emirates have already qualified for the playoffs, Dubai Capitals now sit in fourth place with nine points above Sharjah Warriors. The clash between the seven-point Sharjah Warriors and the second-placed Gulf Giants at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday will thus decide the last place in the final round.