Chris Lynn played a remarkable half-century innings, leading Gulf Giants to victory in an impressive pursuit. Chasing a target of 147, Lynn’s composed performance guided his team to the ILT20 title. Earlier, Wanindu Hasaranga’s unbeaten fifty was pivotal in Desert Vipers posting 146 in the ILT20 final on Sunday, February 12, 2023. Despite losing early wickets, Hasaranga and Sam Billings orchestrated a recovery for the Vipers. Carlos Brathwaite contributed with three wickets.
Lynn’s determined unbeaten 72, along with Gerhard Erasmus’s stylish 30 and Shimron Hetmyer’s timely aggressive 25, propelled Adani Gulf Giants to victory in the inaugural DP World ILT20. They clinched the title by defeating Desert Vipers by seven wickets in the final at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night. Gulf Giants won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Desert Vipers’ opener Rohan Mustafa confidently struck a boundary through extra cover off Colin de Grandhomme’s bowling. However, his partner Alex Hales fell to Carlos Brathwaite’s first ball in the second over, caught by James Vince at mid-off for 1. Mustafa was then run out in the same over due to an alert play by Qais Ahmad and Brathwaite, adding just 6 runs.
Adam Lyth was dismissed by Grandhomme, caught by Brathwaite, after scoring 13 runs off as many balls. Captain Colin Munro entered the fray with the team struggling at 25/3 in 4.3 overs. Grandhomme managed a wicket maiden, and the powerplay yielded only 30 runs. Sam Billings reverse swept Qais Ahmed for a boundary in the eighth over, but Munro fell to Chris Jordan’s slower delivery in the ninth over, caught and bowled brilliantly for 6.
Wanindu Hasaranga collected two boundaries off Qais Ahmed, and by the halfway mark, the score was 62/4. Billings hit consecutive boundaries off David Wiese in the 12th over, while Hasaranga struck successive boundaries off Sanchit Sharma. In the 14th over, Hasaranga launched Wiese’s delivery for a massive six and followed it with another six over mid-wicket, reaching his half-century in 21 balls.
At the halfway mark, Gulf Giants needed 73 more runs to win. Hasaranga made a strong impact, conceding only four runs in the 11th over. Cottrell returned for the 12th over, allowing just five runs without success. Lynn hit a boundary off Atkinson, and the over yielded ten runs.
With the score at 99, Erasmus advanced down the pitch and lofted Hasaranga’s delivery to Curran at long-on, departing for 30 with 48 runs needed from 33 balls. The focus then shifted to the aggressive Shimron Hetmyer. Lynn completed his half-century in 39 balls.
Hetmyer hammered Wood for consecutive boundaries, and Lynn followed suit with two consecutive boundaries off the fourth and fifth deliveries of the over, accumulating 18 runs and reducing the target to a manageable 24 off 18 balls. Hetmyer’s successive boundaries off Curran pushed the game further away from Desert Vipers. Lynn secured the victory by striking the tournament-winning boundary.
