Dubai: Gulf Giants have moved into the top stride with an all-round performance and will hold a slight edge against Dubai Capitals in Match 5 of the DP World International League T20 at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday.
Giants’ all-round show against a strong Abu Dhabi Knight Riders should give them the confidence to take on Dubai Capitals, who also defeated ADKR in the tournament opener in Dubai on Sunday. But Capitals showed a bit of rustiness in the opener, while Giants have hit the ground running straight away.
UAE pacer Sanchit Sharma has used his knowledge on home conditions to produce a stunning spell for the Adani Sportsline-owned franchise against Knight Riders and will be a handful for Capitals on a pitch that looks fresh with a good dose green tinge. The team is loaded with quality all-rounders with the experienced James Vince at the helm and power-hitters like Shimron Hetmyer.
Great leader
Head coach Andy Flower said before the start that he is quite pleased with the bunch of players at his disposal and was optimistic, quite rightly so. “Obviously we are happy with the squad composition right now. I feel like we have all our bases covered and we also have a great leader in James Vince, who I have worked with in the past.”
Capitals have some top names, but it was skipper Rovman Powell’s all-round show that bailed the team out of trouble against ADKR. Capitals’ job was made easy by wayward Abu Dhabi bowling, who gave away far too many easy offerings in the final three overs, which cost ADKR 48 runs.
“I think we went pretty well. We were trying to get to 150 because we thought that was a good total, but luckily we were able to get to 180,” Powell, who was adjudged the player of the match, said after the easy victory.
The Capitals will once again rely heavily on the spin duo of Mujeeb ur Rahman and Sikandar Raza, while Isuru Udana has been sharp in his opening spell. It’s going to be Giants bowlers vs Capitals spinners.
