Powell and Raza steer Capitals to maiden ILT20 title with Vipers’ romp

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Rovman Powell smashed a fifty and Sikander Raza played a blitzkrieg cameo of 12-ball 34 as Dubai Capitals defeated Desert Vipers in the topsy-turvy final to lift maiden DP World ILT20 title in Dubai on Sunday.

After restricting Vipers 189/5, Capitals chased down the target with four balls to spare to notch up a fourth consecutive victory against the Vipers.

Chasing, Capitals got off to the worst possible start as their star opener David Warner was clean bowled by Payne in the second over to trigger the collapse.

Mohammad Amir rattled the stumps of Gulbadin Naib, who had scored three fifties against Vipers in their last three matches, to push Capitals on the backfoot.

In his next over, the former Pakistani pace spearhead had Sam Billings caught behind the wicket to make it 31/3. With top three batsmen back in the pavilion for only 31 runs, Capitals needed someone to play the sheet anchor role.

Their hopes were resting on Shai Hope and Rovman Powell, the last recognized batting pair on the crease. Powell got a reprieve in the eighth over.

He was stumped by Azam Khan off Nathan Sowter. But the replay showed that Azam had collected the ball in front of the stumps which prompted the umpire to call it an illegal delivery and Powell was called back.

After being called back, Powell capitalized on the chance and started cutting loose. He added 80 runs for the fourth wicket with Hope. Both the batsmen played sensibly. They frustrated the Vipers bowlers and did not give them any chance.

They kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles, hitting occasional boundaries to keep the Capitals in the hunt. The plan was evident to take the match as deep as possible.

Powell brought up his fifty in 30 balls with the help of six boundaries and two sixes. Sam broke the dangerous-looking partnership to bring Vipers back in the game.

Powell and Dasun Shanaka combined to take it deeper with a 41-run stand. Shanaka played a 10-ball 21 cameo to keep the chase alive. Payne and Sowter removed Shanka and Powell within a span of 10 runs to tilt the match in favour of the Vipers.

When Powell got out, the Capitals still needed 24 runs off 12 balls. But Raza refused to give and 15 runs off Amir in the penultimate over to bring the equation down to 9 needed off six. He smashed a six and four on the first two balls of the last overs to take Capitals over the line.

Earlier, Holden led Vipers’ charge. He was in devastating form and punished the Capitals bowlers at his will.

After the departure of the other opener Rahmatullah Gurbaz with just five runs on the board, Vipers needed a partnership to avoid another collapse. Gurbaz was sent back by McCoy in the second over.

Holden decided to take responsibility on his shoulders. Not only did hold the innings but also kept the bowlers at bay. He shifted his gears in the fourth over and collected 13 runs off Scott Kuggeleijn with the help of two boundaries. He repeated the feat in the sixth over again, which looked exactly like the replay of the fourth over.

Holden added 28 runs for the second wicket before McCoy struck again to give the second jolt to Vipers. Holden and Dan Lawerence shared a 41-run partnership for the third wicket to take the score to 74 before Haider Ali removed the latter to make it 75/3.

But Holden was unfazed by the wickets falling on the other end. Vipers kept on losing the wickets at regular intervals but Holden was waging the battle from the other end. He raced to his fifty off 32 balls, hitting 10 fours.

Sam Curran joined Holden in the middle and both the batsmen knuckled down in the rescue act. They knew the stakes were high and there was no room for error.

Another wicket would push the Vipers on the backfoot. They could not afford to play too slow. With an eye on the run rate, Holden and Sam added 47 runs for the fourth wicket.

Sikander Raza trapped Holden in front of the wicket to bring some respite to the Capitals’ camp. His innings was studded with 12 boundaries.

After the departure of Holden, the onus of taking the Vipers to a fighting total came on the shoulders of Sam and Azam Khan, who had been a flop in the tournament.

Azam made his intentions clear from the word go. He took 13 runs off Raza despite the dismissal of Holden in the same over.

Sam, who was playing a foil to Holden, suddenly assumed the role of a protagonist and started leading the charge. He flexed his muscles and plundered 16 runs off McCoy in the 18th over.

Sam was unstoppable as he sprinted to his fifty off just 22 deliveries with a couple. Azam and Curran took 25 runs in the last two overs to propel the score to 189/5. Azam smacked a quick-fire 13-ball 27 while Sam remained unbeaten on 62 off 35 deliveries. His knock was studded with five boundaries and three sixes.