ILT20: MI Emirates outclass Gulf Giants to reach final

Giants were bowled out for 118 in 18.2 overs through Sri Lanka's 22-year-old leg spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth bagging 3 for 22 after Windies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein (2 for 13) struck early and Afghanistan's left-arm spinner Waqar Salamkheil chipping in with (2 for 27).

Emirates had posted a challenging total of 163 for 7 despite Australian medium pacer Daniel Worrall's fine spell of 3 for 15 from his four overs well backed by Blessing Muzarabani (2 for 34). The architects of Emirates' score were their skipper Nicholas Pooran (36) and Dwayne Bravo (30). They had put on a 45-run partnership off 36 balls for the fourth wicket. Later, Kieron Pollard smashed a breezy unbeaten 27 off 14 balls, and together with Tim David (29), added 45 runs in 26 balls for the sixth wicket.

The Giants' chase began on a bad note losing their consistent scorer and captain James Vince to the first ball of the innings, clean bowled by Akeal Hosein. UAE's left-arm medium pacer Muhammad Rohid produced a beauty to hit the top of the off stump of opener Jordan Cox too for 1 while Chris Lynn had Hosein caught by Fletcher at point for a run-a-ball 18.

Jamie Smith and Usman Khan pushed the score to 46 when Viyaskanth made Smith lift straight into the hands of Tim David at long-on for 10. Hetmyer began in his usual style hitting his very first delivery from Viyaskanth for a six. He lasted only four balls to score seven runs before edging Bravo to wicketkeeper Pooran.

Five down for 57 at the halfway mark, Emirates went for the kill. To make it easier for Emirates, Overton got run out for 5. Usman Khan too got out for 26 caught by Boult at long-off. Chirs Jordan delayed Emirates' win through a 15-ball knock of 31 runs before being caught by Boult at long-off off Salamkheil.

Earlier, second-placed Giants won the toss and elected to bowl against MI Emirates, who were at the top of the table in this edition. Both teams had six victories and collected 12 points each but were separated only by Net Run Rate (NRR). Emirates played this qualifier after two successive defeats, while Giants had come in after a four-match winning run.

Opener Muhammad Waseem and Kusal Perera put on 34 runs in 4.1 overs before Waseem was dismissed, playing Daniel Worrall onto his wicket for 12. With the next delivery, Worrall clean-bowled Andre Fletcher with a brilliant in-swinger. Skipper Nicholas Pooran, who had flown in from Perth after the West Indies-Australia 0ne-day series, joined opener Perera. At the score of 46, Worrall struck again, forcing Perera to edge to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith for 22.

The experienced pair of Bravo and Pooran took the total to 69 by the halfway mark. Pooran, who kept the scoreboard moving through some aggressive shots, fell to UAE's young leg-spinner Zuhaib Zubair, caught by Hetmyer at deep square leg for 36. The score went past the 100-run mark in the 13.3rd over through a straight six by Bravo off Liam Dawson.

Blessing Muzarabani ended Bravo's knock of 30 by getting him caught by Jordan Cox at deep mid-wicket. Tim David fell for 29 when Muzarabani got him caught by Hetmyer at deep square leg. Pollard remained unbeaten with a quick 27 off 14 balls. In the last five overs, Emirates scored 50 runs, losing two wickets.

Player of the match, Akeal Hosein, revealed how he produced a match-winning spell: " It's about trying to get accustomed as fast as possible and trying to put in as much recovery as possible on your off days. When I came in today, the first ball spun; so I said I'm going to run with that today."

A delighted skipper Nicholas Pooran, skipper of MI Emirates, said: "The way we've played in the tournament so far has been brilliant. Proud of each and every one of our members. Akeal was brilliant. It's great to have experienced players. You can't buy experience. Bravo's knock allowed Pollard and David to flourish."

Giants captain James Vince candidly expressed his disappointment. "It was a disappointing performance. We were completely outplayed today. It was difficult to get our spinners in the game because of the left-right combination. If we had a left-hander to attack Akeal early on, it would have been useful. Unfortunately, conditions didn't change much through the match."

On Thursday, Dubai Capitals will take on Gulf Giants in the Qualifier at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium from 6:30 pm local time.

Brief scores: MI Emirates 163/7 in 20 overs (Kusal Perera 22, Nicholas Pooran 36, Dwayne Bravo 30, Tim David 29, Kieron Pollard 27*, Daniel Worrall 3/15, Blessing Muzarabani 2 for 34) vs Gulf Giants 118/10 in 18.2 overs (Usman Khan 26, Chris Jordan 31, Akeal Hosein 2/13, Waqar Salamkheil 2/27, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 3/22)

Player of the Match: Akeal Hosein. (ANI)