Gulf Giants defeated MI Emirates by five wickets in an action-packed International League T20 (ILT20) 2023 encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, February 1.

The Giants rode on an all-round bowling performance to bundle out the Emirates for 139 in 19.5 overs. In reply, Tom Banton’s 39-ball 45, Chris Lynn’s 28 off 26 balls and Shimron Hetmyer’s last-ball six helped the Giants chase down the total in the last ball of the thrilling clash.

With this massive win, the Giants became the second team to qualify for the ILT20 2023 playoffs after Desert Vipers. Both the Giants and the Vipers have 12 points from eight matches.

Earlier, Gulf Giants captain James Vince won the toss and decided to field first. The Giants made two changes - bringing in debutant Dominic Drakes and Gerhard Erasmus in place of Liam Dawson and Richard Gleeson. On the other hand, MI Emirates also made a couple of changes, adding Basil Hameed, Nicholas Pooran and Jordan Thompson to their playing XI.

Left-arm pacer Drakes got off to a brilliant start on his ILT20 debut as he trapped opener Andre Fletcher in front of the stumps in just the second ball of the match. 

Basil Hameed joined Muhammad Waseem at the crease. The duo added 23 runs off 20 balls before Hameed was dismissed by Giants’ star all-rounder David Wiese for 9.

Later, wicketkeeper-batter Pooran and Muhammad Waseem stitched an impressive third-wicket partnership for the Emirates. Pooran and Waseem forged a 61-run stand before fast bowler Chris Jordan removed Waseem for 29.

With the score reading 88/3 in 11.2 overs, in-form Emirates captain Kieron Pollard walked out to bat. 

However, the Giants piled more pressure on the Emirates’ batting line-up as star leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed deceived Pooran to get him caught at deep mid-wicket for a 29-ball 42.

At the start of the 15th over, Pollard smashed Ahmed for back-to-back sixes before the leg-spinner had the last laugh as he dismissed the swashbuckling batter, who was unfortunately picked out at deep mid-wicket.

Meanwhile, Jordan added more misery on the Emirates as he removed Najibullah Zadran for 1.

The Giants continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals as Drakes bagged his second to dismiss Thompson for 1.

The Vince-led outfit later quickly removed Trent Boult (1), Dwayne Bravo (3) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (0) to bowl out Emirates for 139.

For the Giants, Jordan was the wrecker-in-chief as he claimed three wickets for 12 runs in his 3.5 overs.

Chasing 140, Tom Banton and skipper Vince opened the innings for the Giants. The duo played sensibly, adding 61 runs for the first wicket.

The Giants later lost their first wicket as Vince departed for 26 off 25 balls.

With 79 needed off 66 balls, Chris Lynn joined Banton at the crease. Lynn and Banton added 15 more runs before the England international was dismissed by Bravo for a well-made 45.

Later, Lynn and Gerhard Erasmus constructed a 42-run stand for the third-wicket to keep the Giants in a formidable position. However, Erasmus perished to Fazalhaq Farooqi for 20 off 16 balls.

The Emirates’ star all-rounder Bravo soon joined the party as he removed Lynn for 28 to bring his side back into the game.

Meanwhile, the Giants succumbed to another blow as Wiese departed for 5 after an unfortunate run-out.

The match went down to the wire as the Giants needed 11 runs off the final over. With Hetmyer and Jordan at the crease, Pollard gave Thompson to bowl the last over.

After starting the over with a wide, Thompson conceded just seven runs in the next five balls. With three runs required off the final ball, Hetmyer smashed a low full toss over the deep mid-wicket for a six to clinch a thrilling victory for the Giants.

Having already earned their playoff berth, the Giants will aim to continue their winning momentum when they lock horns with Desert Vipers at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, February 4.