NEW DELHI: Dasun Shanaka’s late blitzkrieg proved crucial to the Dubai Capitals‘ convincing victory over the Gulf Giants on Thursday at the Dubai International Stadium.
With five wickets and eight deliveries remaining, the Dubai Capitals secured a crucial victory when Shanaka threw the kitchen sink at the Gulf Giants.
James Vince, the captain of the Gulf Giants, was asked to bat first and immediately tried to attack. Obed McCoy, however, handed the Dubai Capitals their first wicket at the opposite end when he hit Ibrahim Zadran for three. Jordan Cox joined Vince, who hit four boundaries in his twenty-four, and kept the Gulf Giants’ scoreboard going.
Vince was removed just before the powerplay ended, and Zahir Khan removed Tom Alsop for two early in the seventh over. With Gerhard Erasmus’s strong backing, Cox assumed leadership from that point on.
Cox and Erasmus recovered and put on a 69-run partnership to give the Giants some momentum in the last part of the innings, despite the Dubai Capitals keeping things close. However, Erasmus left for 29, and soon after, Cox reached his half-century, with Shimron Hetmyer joining him.
The Dubai Capitals’ bowling held Hetmyer and Cox solidly in check as they attempted to score immediately. The Gulf Giants scored a respectable 153/5 in 20 overs after Cox was run out for a solid 70 in the last over of the innings. On 17, Hetmyer was still undefeated.
Ben Dunk and Shai Hope responded by getting out to a steady start and trying to lay the groundwork for the Dubai Capitals’ pursuit. However, Dunk was unable to bat for very long and fell for ten, and Khalid Shah contributed ten more. Both players fell as they attempted to go long, giving the Gulf Giants a brief advantage.
Following that, Gulbadin Naib joined Hope, and the two of them filled in the holes effectively, gaining a number of significant boundaries when the Dubai Capitals retaliated. Aayan Khan took his second wicket, but Gulbadin was the next to leave for 17. Captain Sikandar Raza and Hope were taken to the middle when Najibullah Zadran was unable to stay for too long and returned to the hut for seven.
Together, Raza and Hope scored 33 runs, which helped to steady the ship. Together with Raza, Hope was able to lay the groundwork for the massive launch in the last overs, which was just what the Dubai Capitals needed. Dasun Shanaka began in fifth gear, and Blessing Muzarabani took Hope out for 47 before giving up 18 runs in the over.
Shanaka finished the match with two sixes, a boundary, and a single in the 19th over, continuing his assault on the Gulf Giants bowling all the way through. Raza concluded with 26 from 15 deliveries, while Shanaka finished undefeated with 34 off 10 deliveries.