ABU DHABI: MI Emirates booked their place in the International League T20 playoffs after an emphatic eight-wicket win over the Gulf Giants at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, marking their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament.
Chasing 142, MI Emirates were rocked early by incisive bowling from the Giants, losing Jonny Bairstow to LBW to Mark Adair for a duck and Tom Banton to Azmatullah Omarzai, leaving the team at 2/2 inside two overs. Nicholas Pooran and Muhammad Waseem then took control, forging an unbeaten 140-run partnership in just 89 balls to guide MI Emirates home with 21 balls to spare.
Waseem carried his bat through the innings, scoring 59 runs off 42 balls, including three sixes and three fours, while Pooran contributed a scintillating unbeaten 69 from 49 deliveries, smashing six sixes and three fours.
Their partnership not only steadied the innings but also accelerated the chase after the 10th over, with Pooran reaching his half-century in 43 balls and Waseem following suit in 38 balls, his first of the season.
Earlier, the Gulf Giants had been restricted to 141/6 despite a strong performance from Moeen Ali, who scored 51 runs off 48 balls. MI Emirates’ bowlers applied early pressure, with Romario Shepherd striking twice to remove James Vince and Asif Khan, while Fazalhaq Farooqi trapped Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Arab Gul, Shakib Al-Hasan and Kieron Pollard bowled tightly during the middle overs, conceding just 18 runs between overs seven and ten, keeping the Giants in check and building pressure on their batsmen.
Ali and Omarzai attempted to revive the innings with a 40-run partnership, but Farooqi broke the stand in the 15th over. Ali and Chris Mayers then added 52 runs in 35 balls, briefly accelerating the score, but it was insufficient to set a challenging target for MI Emirates.
Player of the match Waseem praised the strategy that underpinned their innings.
“We focused on surviving the first few overs and building a partnership. Once that phase passed, we settled into our natural game and waited for the loose deliveries,” he said.
Gulf Giants skipper Vince reflected on his side’s struggles.
“We were short of runs again. Losing early wickets really knocked the momentum out of our innings. That said, I thought we finished better than in recent games, but the damage was done upfront,” he admitted.
The victory keeps MI Emirates’ playoff hopes on track as they head into the final stages of the tournament, while the Giants, led by Vince, must fight to secure one of the remaining top-table spots.
