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So that will be all from our coverage of this contest but there's more cricketing action lined up from leagues around the world. Do join us tomorrow for our coverage of the same right here on Sportskeeda. For now though, this is your host Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for tuning in - good night and have a great week ahead!
Match Summary: MI Emirates beat Gulf Giants by 18 runs.
Nicholas Pooran 51 (28) | Fazalhaq Farooqi 4/25 (4) James Vince 52 (43) | Chris Jordan 2/48 (4)
A fantastic bowling display by MI Emirates after they posted a massive 179 on the back of Nicholas Pooran and Tim David's exploits. It was a struggle initially with wickets not coming their way early in the powerplay even as Akeal Hosein bowled his heart out with fortune not favoring him. The intent was there to be seen by Jamie Smith and skipper James Vince as they went all out in attack from the outset.
Fazalhaq Farooqi then broke the game open with a dual-strike that sent Smith and Jordan Cox packing off consecutive deliveries. The onus fell on Vince to steer the innings but the scoring rate slowed down and it didn't help that Usman Khan was struggling for timing at the other end. It seemed a completely different game post the powerplay as the asking rate mounted steadily.
Waqar Salamkheil's googly proved difficult to read and he eventually got the better of Usman. Vince scored a half-century but he tried to overhit the ball on a fair few occasions, eventually biting the dust. Dwayne Bravo nailed his yorkers and by the time he was done, the Giants needed 63 off the last four overs. It seemed a lost cause until Jamie Overton turned it on, walloping five sixes across the next two overs to bring it down to 26 needed off the last two.
Suddenly, momentum swung the way of the Giants but Farooqi could simply do no wrong tonight. On he came for the 19th and he delivered an over for the ages, castling Overton and trapping Chris Jordan in front while running a scratchy Shimron Hetmyer out in between those two wickets. He finished with four to his name and shut the door on the defending champions before Trent Boult wrapped things up. MI Emirates get on the board for the season while the Giants taste their first defeat as the result of last year's Eliminator was flipped around this time out.
And that is that! MI Emirates had to toil hard but they've got the job done in the end for their first win of the season. By a fairly decent margin at that!
20
overs
161/9score
0
W
2
W
1
1
runs
Dominic Drakes*
2(2)
Aayan Afzal Khan
1(1)
Trent Boult
2/39
19.6 Trent Boult to Dominic Drakes, very full on off stump. Drakes shovels it out towards long on who fumbles slightly but a lone run it shall be. MI Emirates get on the board with an 18-run win!
19.5 Trent Boult to Aayan Khan, full outside the off stump. Aayan powers it with a smear through point and picks up a single into the deep
Aayan Khan, RHB, is the last man out in the middle
19.4 Trent Boult to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, SWATTED TO DEEP SQUARE LEG! Shoved into the track outside the off stump and Mujeeb goes for a wild swat as he loses his balance. Arrows it straight down the throat of deep square leg coming forward and pouching it even as he has to reach for it and that's the ninth wicket down!
19.3 Trent Boult to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, backs away to thump this back of a length delivery with width through the cover point region. Good work by the sweeper moving to his left as the batters pick up two
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Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Dominic Drakes
*
Trent Boult
Video
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