Dubai Capitals hold nerve to beat MI Emirates by one run in ILT20 season opener

Dubai Capitals rode on stellar spells from Gulbadin Naib and Olly Stone to clinch a onerun victory against MI Emirates in the first match of the International League T20 ILT20 season threeFans were treated to a lastball thriller at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday as Nicholas Poorans exquisite halfcentury of 61 runs off 40 balls for MI Emirates went in vain The win marked the narrowest margin in ILT20 historyMI Emirates were coasting to victory needing 16 runs from 15 balls but a disciplined performance from the Capitals bowling unit swung the pendulum in their favor Gulbadin Naib finished with figures of 3 for 13 while Olly Stone returned with 2 for 14Earlier in the evening Fazalhaq Farooqis fivewicket haul of 5 for 15 restricted the Dubai Capitals to 1338 Brandon McMullens halfcentury of 58 runs off 42 balls helped the Capitals recover from a poor start while Rovman Powell also contributed 25 runs to give their bowlers something to defendMI Emirates innings suffered an early setback as Muhammad Waseem and Andre Fletcher were both dismissed by Olly Stone for ducks in the powerplay MI Emirates woes worsened as they lost Tom Banton for just seven runs to Farhan Khan while Kusal Perera fell after scoring only 12 runs off the bowling of Obed McCoy leaving MI Emirates reeling at 234 in 43 oversComing in at number five skipper Nicholas Pooran dispatched Farhan Khan over square leg for a maximum followed by a boundary with a lofted offdrive to make his intentions clear MI Emirates finished their powerplay at 334Akeal Hosein joined Pooran and the pair built a vital partnership of 79 runs off 64 balls At the 10over mark MI Emirates needed 80 runs from 60 deliveries Signaling a change of momentum in the 11th over Pooran heaved Sikandar Raza for a six over midwicket Akeal Hosein also took down Raza for a six down the ground to complete the most lucrative over of the innings until then with 14 runsThe partnership was finally broken when Akeal Hosein was dismissed by Gulbadin Naib with the scoreline at 1032 in 152 overs Hosein finished his innings with 30 runs off 31 balls Soon after Pooran brought up his halfcentury with a six reaching the milestone in just 36 ballsWith MI Emirates needing 16 runs from 15 balls Gulbadin Naib struck twice in three balls Naib flummoxed Nicholas Pooran with a slower ball and followed it up with the wicket of Alzarri JosephOlly Stone delivered a shrewd 19th over conceding only one run The onus was on the experienced Kieron Pollard to finish the job in the final over bowled by Farhan Khan However the veteran could only manage 11 runs of the 13 needed handing the Capitals a thrilling lastball victoryPut in to bat first the Dubai Capitals had a slow start managing only 30 runs in the powerplay and losing Shai Hope to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the process Adam Rossington was also castled by Alzarri Joseph as both openers only managed nine runs eachScottish batter Brandon McMullen set about a repair job notching a crucial halfcentury in just 33 balls McMullens knock of 58 runs off 42 balls comprised four fours and three sixes before he became Fazalhaq Farooqis second wicket of the night in the 17th overMeanwhile Capitals skipper Sikandar Raza was dismissed by Zahoor Khan in the 11th over after scoring 10 runs off 10 deliveries Rovman Powell hit the ground running quickly making his way to 25 runs off 20 balls including two towering sixes Powells promising innings was derailed by a toecrushing yorker from Fazalhaq Farooqi in the 19th overThat same over saw Fazalhaq Farooqi complete his fivewicket haul dismissing Dasun Shanaka who struck a quickfire 13 runs followed by Olly Stone for a golden duck The Capitals only managed four runs in the final over to finish the innings at 1338 in 20 oversReflecting on the victory Player of the Match Gulbadin Naib said That is the beauty of cricket and T20 Not a good total on the board but we defended it with the guys giving 100 per cent The pitch was helping the bowlers a lot Not easy for the batters We just tried to keep it stump to stump and we did it Brief Scores Dubai Capitals beat MI Emirates by 1 runDubai Capitals 1338 in 20 overs Brandon McMullen 58 Rovman Powell 25 Dasun Shanaka 13 Fazalhaq Farooqi 5 for 16 Zahoor Khan 1 for 22 Alzarri Joseph 1 for 29 beat MI Emirates 1327 in 20 overs Nicolas Pooran 61 Akeal Hosein 30 Gulbadin Naib 3 for 13 Olly Stone 2 for 14Player of the Match Gulbadin NaibWith agency inputs