
After thrashing Desert Vipers in their last game, MI Emirates (EMI) will next challenge Gulf Giants (GUL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 1 February. The Kieron Pollard-led side are currently third on the ILT20 points table after seven matches, while their opponents, the Gulf Giants, have played some terrific cricket throughout the season and are currently leading the charts. Thus, when these two sides finally meet, it is going to be a spectacle for the fans.
Batting first in the previous match, MI Emirates scored 241 runs on the board after 20 overs. Their top-order wreaked havoc against the Vipers as Muhammad Wasim smashed 86 off 44 balls while his partner scored 50 off 39 balls. Skipper Kieron Pollard joined the party later, scoring 50 off just 19 balls. Dan Mousli also played a brilliant inning of 31 runs off 17 balls.
In the second innings, the bowlers matched the performance of the batsmen and bowled out the Vipers for just 84 runs. Fazalhaq Farooqui took three wickets for just 13 runs in his three overs, while Zahoor Khan and Imran Tahir picked up two wickets apiece to dismantle the Vipers’ batting. Thus, they will be highly confident ahead of their next match.
Coming to the Giants, their last two matches of the season were abandoned due to rain. They have missed only one match so far in the season and thus the team will be hoping to do well against Mumbai and establish their authority at the top of the table. His batting in the last match was very average and this time he needs to work on it.