Dubai Capitals claim an important six-wicket win over the Gulf Giants

Mustafizur Rahman took his three wickets in the 14th over but it was enough to turn the tide after James Vince (36 off 34) and Azmatullah Omarzai (43 off 26) looked dangerous in the middle overs. His bowling helped the Capitals take the Giants to 156. Shayan Jahangir’s controlled innings of 48 off 44 balls set the Capitals up before Rovman Powell’s unbeaten 47 off 31, including a four and three sixes, sealed the victory.

The Capitals made a calculated start to the chase, with Jahangir providing the early impetus with six and four boundaries to take them to 33/0 after four overs. The momentum changed in the fifth round when Omarzai struck twice to eliminate Sediqullah Atal (9 of 10) and Jordan Cox (0 of 2). At the end of the power play they were 42/2 and still needed 115 points to win.

Despite the subpar total, the Giants spinners applied pressure, with the runs mostly being singles. Jahangir held the innings together, ably supported by Leus du Plooy (22 off 15), before Fred Klaassen smashed his stumps just as the partnership of 31 runs in 27 balls was building. After Powell was initially quiet on his arrival, the Capitals reached half-time on 68/3, needing 89 from the last 10 overs.

The crucial wicket of Jahangir fell in the 15th over when he was about to hit the gas. His dismissal briefly brought the pursuit to a halt, but Powell ensured the momentum didn’t fade and provided a late boost. Mohammad Nabi (25* from 14) then ensured that the battle in the final was decidedly decided, first leveling the score with a four before sealing the comeback with a six.

Earlier in the game, thanks to Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s explosive start, the Giants got off the ground and hit 25 off just 11 balls, taking the side to 39/0 after three overs. Haider Ali then struck in the fourth over to remove Gurbaz and added a second scalp in the sixth to take Lorcan Tucker (1 for 4). Between these two wickets, Nabi contributed by dismissing Moeen Ali (7 off 6) as the Giants finished the powerplay on 53/3.

Vince and Omarzai then formed a crucial partnership to stabilize the Giants’ innings. Together they put on 66 runs off 46 balls in the middle overs as the duo carried the Giants past the halfway mark and kept the scoring rate high.

The dynamic changed decisively when Mustafizur Rahman returned for a devastating performance in the 14th over. The left-arm pacer removed Vince, Omarzai and Sean Dickson (0 for 1) in quick succession, reducing the Giants from 110/3 to 116/6 and exposing the lower order.

Kyle Mayers (24 from 20) and Mark Adair (12 from 12) attempted a late push and added some urgency with boundaries in the 18th over, but chaos ensued at the death. There was a remarkable hat-trick of run-outs in the final over as panic between the wickets wiped out the Giants’ late resistance. From 152/7 they were bowled out for 156.

Dubai Capitals deputy captain Mohammad Nabi said: “It was a complete team effort. They got off to a strong start but the turning point was Mustafizur’s over where we got three wickets and changed the momentum. Haider was excellent in the powerplay and Fizz really changed the game. Rovman also played brilliantly – he kept the tempo cleverly and made sure he capitalized on every ball.”

Gulf Giants skipper James Vince said: “It’s been a similar pattern to our last few games. We get into a position where we should be adding another 20 or 30 runs, but when one wicket falls we tend to lose two or three in quick succession. That puts pressure on the batters coming in as they have to lower the risk just to make sure we don’t completely collapse.”

Short scores

Dubai Capitals beat Gulf Giants by six wickets

Gulf Giants 156 all out in 19.5 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 43, James Vince 36, Mustafizur Rahman 3 for 34, Haider Ali 2 for 24)

Dubai Capitals 162/4 in 19.2 overs (Shayan Jahangir 48, Rovman Powell 47 not out, Mohammad Nabi 25 not out, Azmatullah Omarzai 2 for 27)

Player of the game: Mustafizur Rahman

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