Gritty Gulf Giants get the better of MI Emirates in thrilling contest

Abu Dhabi,
The Gulf Giants were forced to dig deep, and they responded brilliantly, to defeat the MI Emirates by two wickets, in what was a nail-biter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, in Season 3 of the DP World ILT20. The Gulf Giants looked down and out at one stage, before their lower order showed nerves of steel to guide the side over the finish line against the MI Emirates. The win helps the Gulf Giants move to fifth on the points table.
Asked to bat first, the MI Emirates had a slow start as they lost the openers Kusal Perera for four and Muhammad Waseem for 12, both to Daniel Worrall, in the powerplay. The in-form Tom Banton then began the job of rebuilding for the MI Emirates, and was looking for support from his skipper.
However, Nicholas Pooran could only add eight to the cause while Dan Mousley added five more, before both were dismissed, leaving the MI Emirates in a spot of bother at 57/4. Banton was joined by Kieron Pollard, and they dug in. Banton and Pollard kept the scoreboard moving even when the big hits were tough to come by. Banton completed his fifty in the 15th over, and in the next Pollard took Aayan Khan to the cleaners, smashing three sixes in a 21-run over.
The 17th over though saw Banton depart for 56, as a superb 66-run stand came to an end. The MI Emirates would need a strong finish and along with Pollard, who scored 34, Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd added a few lusty blows as well. While Hosein finished unbeaten on 20, Shepherd was not out on eight, the MI Emirates got 151/6 in their 20 overs. Incidentally, Banton’s half-century meant he took over the Green Belt for being the highest run-getter in the tournament.
The Gulf Giants too could not get off to a fast start, as the captain James Vince was the first to fall for one. Soon after, Jordan Cox was packed off for nine, and the Gulf Giants were 20/2 in the fourth over. Tom Alsop was joined by Gerhard Erasmus, and they had to rebuild after the early scares.
Shimron Hetmyer and Ibrahim Zadran tried to up the ante after that, but Joseph castled the West Indian southpaw for seven, which put further pressure on the Gulf Giants. Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up Zadran for 11 after that, but Tom Curran was soldiering on at the other end for the Giants, who had four wickets left. Curran and Mark Adair were picking some crucial boundaries at this point, and brought the Giants to within 17 runs of the target, with two overs to go.
Farooqi accounted for Adair for 15 in the 19th over, and then Aayan Khan combined with Curran and Muhammad Zuhaib to clinch a thrilling win off the final delivery of the game. Aayan, who scored an unbeaten 11 of six deliveries, was instrumental in helping his side over the line.
Brief Scores
Gulf Giants beat MI Emirates by two wickets
MI Emirates 151/6 in 20 overs (Tom Banton – 56, Kieron Pollard – 34, Daniel Worral 2 for 19, Mark Adair – 1 for 24, Blessing Muzarabani – 1 for 16,)
Gulf Giants 152/8 in 20 overs (Gerhard Erasmus – 37, Tom Alsop – 32, Tom Curran 16, Fazalhaq Farooqi – 3 for 34, Muhammad Rohid Khan – 2 for 15)
Player of the Match: Mark Adair