Alex Wharf (England), Shiju Sam (United Arab Emirates), Leslie Reifer (West Indies, TV)
Referee
Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
Toss
MI Emirates elected to bat
Pitch Report
This pitch is slightly dry, so there will be less seam movement. It's well rolled in. It might help the ball grip a bit. Should be a good contest between bat and ball.
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
151Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
126.88Avg
SR
2nd Innings
138Avg Runs
6Avg Wkts
125.03Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Updated: 16 Jan 23:30
20.5°CClear
clear sky
33%
Clouds
0%
Rain %
81%
Humidity
5.2 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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Venue Details
Dubai International Cricket Stadium
This pitch is slightly dry, so there will be less seam movement. It's well rolled in. It might help the ball grip a bit. Should be a good contest between bat and ball.
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That is all then from the action here. Vipers go 3 in 3 and strengthen their position at the top of the table. We have games coming thick and fast from all around the world. Here's where you can follow the SA20 action where rain is threatening to play spoilsport. From here, this is Sourabh signing off on behalf of Bidipto and the entire team. Good night!
Fakhar Zaman (Player Of The Match): I think the fast bowlers were easy but we were struggling to play the spinners to be very honest. We planned to play their overs, to take it deep. The bowlers were bowling really good and the leg side boundary was very big, I was not going there and targeted the short side. It was really good (his partnership with Curran), he batted really well and even though I was the set batter he took the pressure off me. The way he has been batting in this tournament has been brilliant. No (if the heart rate was up towards the end), the management and team just wants us to olay good cricket and we are doing that.
Lockie Ferguson (Desert Vipers captain): It was a strong MI Emirates side that we beat, so yes, we're happy! Collectively, different guys are standing up. Fakhar Zaman and Sam Curran were excellent with the bat. Dan Lawrence with those overs of his helped us immensely. The batters worked out the conditions really well. I was always confident of our boys getting the job done at the halfway stage.
Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates' captain): Felt like we were in the game, it was a decent total, 160 was par but then the dew came in too in the second half. Credit goes to Fakhar and Sam, they got two big overs in the middle and made the difference. But that is okay. Definitely batting (areas to improve), try to get more wickets in the powerplay and keep improving. He (Pollard) has been hitting sixes since the start.
Time for the post-match presentations
22:02 Local Time (23:32 IST): Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates by 5 wickets and extend their unbeaten streak
A comfortable win in the end, much more comfortable than the scoreboard would suggest, and Desert Vipers continue their reign at the top of the points table, this win being the third win for them on the trot in as many matches.
The run chase of 160 was completed in pretty clinical way by the Vipers barring a little period in the middle when they lost 3 wickets for 9 runs in 3 overs. The openers, Fakhar and Hales, did exactly what the openers are supposed to do in a 160-chase. Gave the team a fifty-plus stand in the powerplay.
However, things did get tricky when spin was introduced in the 8th over in the form of Salamkheil. He undid Hales with a ripper and then a couple of wickets were taken from the other end by part-timer Mousley as the Vipers went from 62/0 in 7 overs to 71/3 in the 11th.
Fakhar Zaman saw it all from the other end and then found an able partner in Sam Curran and the duo took matters in their own hands. They stitched a 65-run partnership in 41 balls laced with some terrific shots and pretty much sealed the game for the Vipers.
Even though both of them got out towards the end to Zahoor Khan, they had done enough as Rutherford sealed the game.
19.1 Allah Ghazanfar to Sherfane Rutherford, round the wicket, THAT DOES IT FOR THE MATCH! DESER VIPERS WIN THREE MATCHES IN A ROW! Dragged down on middle-and-leg. Rutherford, in this kind of touch, was not missing out on that! He went deep in his crease, swiveled on the back foot and powered it away over deep backward square-leg for a maximum to end the game in style!
Allah Ghazanfar [2.0-0-17-0] to bowl the final over
Good over from Zahoor, he did all he could but Vipers should win this now. 5 runs needed off the final over