The wait for a T20 league title for the DC franchise finally ended as Dubai Capitals clinched the ILT20 title with a win over Desert Vipers in the final of the tournament on Sunday, February 9.
Dubai defeated Desert Vipers in a nerve-wracking final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai as Sikandar Raza held his nerves to take Dubai home in a 190-run chase. The finale kept swinging from one way to the other. The Capitals lost David Warner, Gulbadin Naib and Sam Billings in the powerplay as they were in a hole. However, opener Shai Hope and Rovman Powell kept the team going. They stabilised the ship as the Capitals stayed alive in the game, but the wicket of Hope for 43 brought a twist.
Powell kept going from one end and found associations with Dasun Shanaka (21) and Sikandar Raza. Powell kept the Capitals in the hunt with his strong 30-ball half-century. The Capitals needed 65 off the final five overs and stayed on track for the chase, however, Powell fell in the 18th over for 63 as the game took a turn again. With the backs against the walls, Raza stood tall. He slammed a 34 from 12 balls and took the Capitals home with four wickets in hand and four balls to go.
The Vipers had hit a strong total of 189 batting first as Max Holden put up 76 from 51 balls and captain Sam Curran made 62* from 33 deliveries. After the departure of openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Alex Hales, Holden held one end and kept the scoreboard ticking. His knock was instrumental in Vipers laying a strong platform for the others to cash in.
Curran and Azam Khan cashed in. They put up 67 for the fifth wicket. Curran was the star in the latter half. He slammed a 117-meter six off Kuggeleijn. Curran and Azam were instrumental in the Vipers reaching close to 200. However, their 189-run score proved to be a little less as the Capitals chased the total down in the final over on the back of a brilliant cameo from Raza.