The wait for a title in the T20 league by DC finally came to an end when Dubai Capitals won the ILT20 title against the Desert Vipers in the final match of the tournament on Sunday, February 9.
Dubai came through the final against Desert Vipers at a nerve-wracking display in the Dubai International Stadium as Sikandar Raza held his nerve during a 190-run chase to guide Dubai to victory. The finale kept tossing and turning. The Capitals were in a hole when David Warner, Gulbadin Naib and Sam Billings were lost in the powerplay; however, opener Shai Hope and Rovman Powell kept things going. They anchored the ship run as the Capitals remained alive in the game, but the wicket of Hope for 43 brought a twist.
Powell kept going from one end for the Capitals, searching for the other ends with the efforts from Dasun Shanaka (21) and Sikandar Raza. Powell kept the game alive with his marvellous 30-ball fifty. The Capitals required 65 runs from the closing five overs and kept the chase in line, but Powell was dismissed in the 18th over for 63 and the game swung again. Against the odds, Raza stood tall and slammed a 34 off 12 balls to take the Capitals home with 4 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare. The Vipers had batted first, setting a strong target of 189 runs which Holden made 76 runs from 51 balls, helped by a captain’s knock of 62* runs from 33 balls by Sam Curran. After the first openers- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Alex Hales were dismissed, Holden anchored the innings and kept scoring. This was vital for the Vipers to lay down the foundation to cash in.
Curran and Azam Khan got plenty of runs. They forged a partnership of 67 runs for the fifth wicket. Curran had the best strike rate in the latter half. He hit a phenomenal 117-meter six off Kuggeleijn. Curran and Azam built the Vipers towards the 200 mark. Their 189-run score was not sufficient as Capitals chased down the total on the last ball of the last over on the back of a magnificent cameo from Raza.
