Vipers prevail in season opener after Gous fifty

Andries Gous slammed a 36-ball 58 and added a whirlwind opening partnership with Fakhar Zaman to set up Desert Vipers' chase in the season opener of the ILT20. Defending champions Dubai Capitals managed to pull back a little but couldn't defend their total of 150/8.

Gous and Zaman started brightly, combining to smash 21 runs off left-arm pacer Muhammad Jawadullah in the fourth over. Zaman hit a six off Mohammad Nabi in the fifth over but was dismissed the next ball. By then, the pair had already added 50 runs in just 4.4 overs. Gous maximized the final over of the PowerPlay, hitting Scott Currie for three fours as the Vipers finished with 64/1 in six overs.

After the timeout, Gulbadin Naib dismissed Max Holden. A double-wicket over from Waqar Salamkheil threatened to derail the chase as he removed Sam Curran and cleaned up Gous. Even then, the Vipers needed 42 off 42 balls. Dan Lawrence came out swinging while Shimron Hetmyer hit a four to reduce the required rate. Currie dismissed Hetmyer, leaving 23 needed off 30 balls. Haider Ali bowled a tight four-run over to keep the Capitals interested. Currie followed up, conceding just one run in his first four balls and dismissing Hasan Nawaz on the fifth, but Khuzaima Tanveer hit a four first ball. Lawrence and Tanveer then polished off the remaining 14 runs in the next two overs to secure the win.

Earlier, the Vipers' bowlers set up the game. Naseem Shah, Curran, Jordon Cox and Tanveer reduced the Capitals to 42/4 in the seventh over. David Willey struggled to a 22-ball 10 before being cleaned up by Noor Ahmad. Rovman Powell then found an ally in Nabi, adding 34 off 22 deliveries. They dragged the team past 100 when Tanveer removed Powell. Nabi and Dasun Shanaka added 48 off the last five overs to reach 150, but it wasn't enough.

Brief Scores: Dubai Capitals 150/8 in 20 overs (Rovman Powell 39, Mohammad Nabi 29; Noor Ahmad 2-25, David Payne 2-26, Khuzaima Tanveer 2-35) lost to Desert Vipers 151/6 in 19 overs (Andries Gous 58, Fakhar Zaman 26; Waqar Salamkheil 2-18, Scott Currie 2-36) by 4 wickets