With their five-wicket triumph over Gulf Giants at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, Dubai Capitals advanced to third place in ILT20 Season 3.
The Capitals chose to bowl first and managed to hold the Giants to a 153/5 total in 20 overs although Jordan Cox scored 70 runs off 53 balls.
The Capitals struggled at 4-77 after 12.2 overs due to the exceptional bowling of UAE spinner Aayan Afzal Khan who recorded figures of 4-0-23-2.
Shai Hope led the Capitals with his top score of 47 before falling to Blessing Muzarabani when 43 runs were still needed from 23 balls to turn the match into a contest with no clear winner.
Sri Lankan Dasun Shanaka (34 not out off 10 balls) joined skipper Sikandar Raza (26 not out off 15 balls) at the crease and delivered a brilliant counter-attack that pushed the Capitals to their third victory of the season.
In the game’s final three overs James Vince, Gulf Giants captain, acknowledged that Shanaka took control of the match.
Shanaka executed clean strikes throughout the final three overs and thus shifted the game in his team’s favor. Vince described their performance throughout the match as improved and felt they achieved a respectable score.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will face MI Emirates at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi this Friday.
Brief Scores
Dubai Capitals beat Gulf Giants by 5 wickets
Gulf Giants 153/5 in 20 overs (Jordan Cox – 70, Gerhard Erasmus – 29, Dushmantha Chameera – 1 for 31, Zahir Khan – 1 for 32)
Dubai Capitals 154/5 in 18.4 overs (Shai Hope -47, Dasun Shanaka – 34 not out, Sikandar Raza – 27 not out, Aayan Khan – 2 for 23, Muhammad Zuhaib – 1 for 22)