By Himadullah Sohoo 
The Dubai Capitals, led by explosive half-centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jake Fraser-McGurk, annihilated the MI Emirates by seven wickets in the second match of the DP World ILT20 season 2.
Gurbaz and Fraser’s Show: The Afghan opener Gurbaz tore apart the Emirates’ bowling attack, smashing 81 runs off just 39 balls with eight fours and four sixes. The young Australian Fraser, playing as a super-sub, also went berserk, scoring 54 off 25 balls with four fours and four sixes. The duo put on a 114-run stand in just 51 balls, making a mockery of the 159-run target set by MI Emirates.
Early Collapse for MI Emirates: After a promising start, MI Emirates’ batting crumbled from 79/1 in the 7th over to 159/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Muhammad Waseem’s 51 off 26 balls, with four sixes and two fours, was the only bright spot in their innings. Wickets fell in quick succession, with Sikandar Raza (3-21) and Jason Holder (3-34) doing the damage for the Capitals.
Capitals Chase with Ease: The Capitals’ chase was a breeze thanks to Gurbaz and Fraser’s power-hitting. They brought up the fifty in just 5 overs, leaving the Emirates bowlers helpless. Even after Gurbaz departed for 81, the Capitals cruised to victory in 16 overs, losing only three wickets.
Dubai Capitals captain David Warner:
“I enjoy leadership. There is great energy in our camp and that helps. These two guys (Gurbaz and Fraser) come with clear minds and are at the peak of their game right now.”
MI Emirates captain Nicholas Pooran:
“We kept losing wickets and should have played smart. All credit to Dubai Capitals, they bowled well. We thought we had a chance with 160, but surely it wasn’t enough.”
Player of the match Sikandar Raza:
“It’s one of those games… they were running away in the powerplay. The wicket was a bit slow and some of those wickets were lucky. They are all world-class cricketers, but you need to play smart cricket. It’s one thing to have a plan and another thing to execute.”
Brief scores:
MI Emirates 159 for 9 in 20 overs (Muhammad Waseem 51, Andre Fletcher 30, Nicholas Pooran 21, Tim David 27, Jason Holder 3 for 34, Sikandar Raza 3 for 21) Dubai Capitals 160 for 3 in 16 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 81, Jakes Fraser-McGurk 54, Trent Boult 2 for 23)
Dubai Capitals beat MI Emirates by 7 wickets.
Anas Ahmed 
Zainab Shafiq