Clinical Capitals crush crestfallen competitor, cap campaign on 2nd spot

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Qais Ahmed and Obed McCoy shared seven wickets between them to help Dubai Capitals set up a nine-wicket victory over Desert Vipers in their last round robin match of the DP World ILT20 in Sharjah.

Riding on a brilliant bowling performance, Capitals restricted the Vipers to 137 all out and raced to the target for the loss of one wicket.

With the victory, Capitals finished their campaign on the second spot to set up a clash with Vipers in the first qualifier. The line-up for the knockout stage was already decided on Sunday.

But the race was still on for the second place finish. The Capitals knew they had a chance to finish in the top two which would guarantee them a place in the first qualifier. The advantage of playing in the first qualifier is that even the loser has another chance for redemption.

The third and fourth-placed teams will play in the eliminator and the winners will move into the second qualifier. The winners of the first qualifier will directly book a berth in the final whereas the runner-up will play with the winners of the eliminator in the second qualifier to set up the title showdown with the winners of the first qualifier.

Chasing a modest total, Capitals got off to a whirlwind start as the openers Adam Rossington and Shai Hope added a quick-fire 42 runs for the first wicket in just 4.4 overs to set the tone for a successful chase.

After the departure of Rossington, Gulbadin Naib took the charge in his hands and started leading the chase. He smashed an unbeaten 31-ball 55 and shared a 96-run stand with Hope to take the Capitals past the target.

Both the batters played sensibly and kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles, hitting occasional boundaries before Gulbadin flexed his muscles.

He raced to his fifty with a six off Tanveer in just 29 deliveries. Hope, who took a back seat, also completed his fifty with a four in 49 balls as Capitals chased down the target with 2.5 overs to spare.

The loss also exposed the chink in the armor of Vipers, who have won seven of their 10 matches to finish on the top. When the two teams meet in the first qualifier, Capitals will have a psychological advantage over their opponents.

Earlier, Mccoy gave a good start to the Capitals as he got rid of the make-shift opener Azam Khan with just 8 runs on the board. Gulbadin took a stunner at the slips to send the right-handed batsman back to the pavilion.

Vipers, who are sitting on the top of the table, had nothing to lose. They decided to experiment with  Azam by asking him to open the innings as he had not done anything noticeable in the tournament so far.

But, Azam -- the son of the former Pakistani wicket-keeper Moin Khan -- once again failed to impress with the bat. He has been a flop throughout the series. His highest score in eight innings this season at the ILT20 is 21 against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. He has scored a total of 56 runs in eight innings at an average of 7 per match.

Azam was sent to open the innings to give him some match practice before the knockouts as he bats down the order usually. But he could not capitalise on the chance and got out to a reckless shot.

McCoy sent back Alex Hales as Vipers lost two wickets for 29. Dan Lawerence and Sam Curran shared a 45-run partnership for the third wicket to take the score to 87/2.

Vipers looked set to post another big total. Qais Ahmed triggered a collapse by breaking the dangerous-looking partnership. Qais ripped through the middle-order.

After the departure of Sam, Lawerence tried to hold the innings and showed some resistance. Lawerence holed out to Shanaka off Qais after adding 19 runs for the fourth wicket with Adam Hose.

The dismissal of Lawerence opened the floodgates for Capitals bowlers, led by Qais. Vipers started losing the wickets in bulk. No batsman could find his feet on the ground after that.

Sikander Raza had Shane Rutherford caught by Qais for a duck as Vipers lost another wicket within a space of four balls. In his next over, Qais uprooted the stumps of Adam Hose before trapping Micheal Jones in front of the stumps to reduce Vipers to 104/7.

McCoy picked up the wicket of Hasaranga for his third scalp of the day before Farhan Khan had sent back Khuzaima Tanveer to wrap up Vipers innings for a 137 in 19.4 overs.