ILT20: Desert Vipers Cruise To Easy Eight-Wicket Victory Over Gulf Giants

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

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.

Recommended For You Dubai: AI to bring aircraft gates closer, reduce walking at Al Maktoum Airport

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.

"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," said Desert Vipers captain Lockie Ferguson.

"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 was also all praise for Tanveer.

"He 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," Vince said.

"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

MENAFN12122025000049011007ID1110474795