By Anas Ahmed 
The Gulf Giants displayed resilience and grit to edge past the MI Emirates by two wickets in a nail-biting contest at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday. The thrilling encounter in ILT20 saw the Giants’ lower order holding their nerve to seal the victory on the final delivery, climbing to fifth on the points table in the process.
MI Emirates’ Innings: Banton Leads the Way
Opting to bat first, the MI Emirates endured a shaky start as openers Kusal Perera (4) and Muhammad Waseem (12) fell early to Daniel Worrall in the powerplay. At 57/4, the team found itself in trouble, but the in-form Tom Banton anchored the innings with his composed 56 off 44 balls, a knock that earned him the Green Belt as the tournament’s top run-scorer.
Skipper Nicholas Pooran (8) and Dan Mousley (5) fell cheaply, leaving Banton and Kieron Pollard to rebuild. The duo stitched together a crucial 66-run stand, with Pollard’s power hitting in the 16th over, smashing three sixes off Aayan Khan, breathing life into the innings.
Banton’s dismissal in the 17th over triggered a mini-collapse, but Akeal Hosein (20*) and Romario Shepherd (8*) ensured a late surge, pushing the MI Emirates to a competitive 151/6 in 20 overs.
Gulf Giants’ Chase: A Test of Nerves
The Gulf Giants had a challenging start, losing captain James Vince (1) and Jordan Cox (9) early. Reduced to 20/2 in the fourth over, the Giants relied on Tom Alsop and Gerhard Erasmus to steady the ship. The pair added a vital 65-run stand, with Alsop contributing 32 and Erasmus scoring 37, before both fell in quick succession.
With the scoreboard reading 97/4, Shimron Hetmyer (7) and Ibrahim Zadran (11) attempted to up the ante but were undone by Alzarri Joseph and Fazalhaq Farooqi, leaving the Giants needing 17 runs off the final two overs with just four wickets in hand.
It was Tom Curran’s (19*) calm presence and some crucial boundaries from Mark Adair (15) and Aayan Khan (11*) that proved decisive. Curran and Aayan combined for a thrilling last-ball win, with Aayan’s unbeaten 11 off six balls sealing the deal for the Gulf Giants.
Post-Match Reactions
Mark Adair (Player of the Match):
“It was all about sticking to the basics and staying calm. Credit to Tom Curran for his composure, which made all the difference in the crunch moments.”
Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates Captain):
“A tough loss today. We lacked discipline in key moments and paid the price. The team needs to regroup and focus on executing better moving forward.”
Brief Scores
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
Gulf Giants beat MI Emirates by two wickets
Zainab Shafiq