Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants in Super Over thriller

Dubai, Dec 9 (PTI) Desert Vipers held their nerves to prevail over Gulf Giants in the first-ever Super Over finish of the ILT20 after Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence heroics here.

After the scores were tied at 179, the Vipers went on to score 13 in the Super Over with Lawrence finding the boundary once, before Thushara got his wicket.

But, Naseem Shah clinched the game for the Vipers after restricting the Giants to just nine runs on Monday.

The Vipers have beaten the Giants in each of their previous five matches.

Curran (44 off 36) and Dan Lawrence’s (56 off 31) partnership ensured the Vipers tied the scores despite a challenging target of 180.

Azmatullah Omarzai bagged four wickets for the Giants, but it was not enough to stop the Vipers from their third straight win of the season. The lower-order batters of the Vipers also scored crucial runs in a team effort.

The Gulf Giants started on the front foot, with Pathum Nissanka (56 off 29) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (41 off 31) taking 14 runs off Naseem in the opening exchanges. The opening pair raced to a 50-run stand inside five overs and powered the Giants to 58 in the powerplay.

Nissanka continued his rich vein of form, bringing up his third half-century in as many games, off just 27 balls. He struck Noor Ahmad for his fourth six of the innings, but the Afghan spinner had the final say, dismissing him off the very next delivery to end the 73-run opening stand.

Gurbaz then took charge, with James Vince providing solid support with 25 runs off 22 balls. Their 54-run partnership was broken by Khuzaima Tanveer, who removed Vince before sending Gurbaz back two balls later. The Giants were 129/3 at the end of the 14th over.

The Giants’ bowlers fought their way back into the contest thereafter. Noor picked up his second wicket by dismissing Azmatullah Omarzai (20 off 13), while David Payne removed Moeen Ali (11 off 11). With only 38 runs coming from the final five overs, the Giants finished on 179/5.

Omarzai made early inroads for the Giants by dismissing Fakhar Zaman (1 off 9). Mark Adair struck soon after, removing Andries Gous (11 off 9), leaving the Vipers struggling at 14/2 early in the chase.

Curran and Impact Player Max Holden (15 off 15) attempted to steady the innings, but Haider Razzaq provided the third breakthrough by sending Holden back. At the halfway mark, the Vipers were 65/3, still needing 115 runs for victory.

Curran then joined forces with Lawrence as the pair began to find regular boundaries. Curran's pivotal knock of 44 had one four and three sixes, before falling to Nuwan Thushara. The 60-run partnership with Lawrence brought the Vipers back into contention.

Lawrence reached his half-century in just 28 balls, but Omarzai turned the game again in the 18th over, dismissing Shimron Hetmyer (16 off 8) before removing Lawrence. Hasan Nawaz chipped in with a quick 11 off 4, but Thushara claimed his second wicket of the innings.

With 13 needed off the final over, Tanveer struck Omarzai for a six, but a fine catch by Gurbaz ended the UAE batter’s stay. Vriitya Aravind then found the gaps to level the scores and force a Super Over. PTI PDS PDS DDV