Abu Dhabi, Jan 26 (IANS) The Gulf Giants were forced to dig deep, and they responded brilliantly, to defeat the MI Emirates by two wickets, in a nail-biter in Season 3 of the ILT20 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium here on Saturday. The Gulf Giants looked down and out at one stage before their lower order showed nerves of steel to guide the side over the finish line against the MI Emirates. The win helps the Gulf Giants move to fifth on the points table.

Asked to bat first, the MI Emirates had a slow start as they lost the openers Kusal Perera for four and Muhammad Waseem for 12, both to Daniel Worrall, in the powerplay. The in-form Tom Banton then began the job of rebuilding for the MI Emirates and was looking for support from his skipper.

However, Nicholas Pooran could only add eight to the cause while Dan Mousley added five more, before both were dismissed, leaving the MI Emirates in a spot of bother at 57/4. Banton was joined by Kieron Pollard, and they dug in. Banton and Pollard kept the scoreboard moving even when the big hits were tough to come by. Banton completed his fifty in the 15th over, and in the next Pollard took Aayan Khan to the cleaners, smashing three sixes in a 21-run over.

The 17th over though saw Banton depart for 56, as a superb 66-run stand came to an end. The MI Emirates would need a strong finish and along with Pollard, who scored 34, Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd added a few lusty blows as well. While Hosein finished unbeaten on 20, Shepherd was not out on eight, the MI Emirates got 151/6 in their 20 overs. Incidentally, Banton’s half-century meant he took over the Green Belt for being the highest run-getter in the tournament.

The Gulf Giants too could not get off to a fast start, as the captain James Vince was the first to fall for one. Soon after, Jordan Cox was packed off for nine, and the Gulf Giants were 20/2 in the fourth over. Tom Alsop was joined by Gerhard Erasmus, and they had to rebuild after the early scares. Both Alsop and Erasmus stayed away from the high-risk approach and steadied the ship with a solid half-century stand. The third wicket produced 65 runs for the Gulf Giants, who were back in the contest.

Alsop was the next to fall for 32 and Erasmus followed shortly after for 37. For the MI Emirates, Muhammad Rohid Khan and Alzarri Joseph were doing most of the heavy lifting with the ball. Shimron Hetmyer and Ibrahim Zadran tried to up the ante after that, but Joseph castled the West Indian southpaw for seven, which put further pressure on the Gulf Giants.

Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up Zadran for 11 after that, but Tom Curran was soldiering on at the other end for the Giants, who had four wickets left. Curran and Mark Adair were picking some crucial boundaries at this point, and brought the Giants to within 17 runs of the target, with two overs to go. Farooqi accounted for Adair for 15 in the 19th over, and then Aayan Khan combined with Curran and Muhammad Zuhaib to clinch a thrilling win off the game's final delivery. Aayan, who scored an unbeaten 11 of six deliveries, was instrumental in helping his side over the line.

Player of the match, Mark Adair said, “It was just about getting the basics right again. Tom Curran came in and shared his experience, and that helped in the crucial moments.” MI Emirates’ captain Nicholas Pooran said, “It was a tough one today, we weren't disciplined enough and paid the price as a team.”

Brief scores:

MI Emirates 151/6 in 20 overs (Tom Banton 56, Kieron Pollard 34, Daniel Worral 2-19, Mark Adair 1-24) lost to Gulf Giants 152/8 in 20 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 37, Tom Alsop 32, Fazalhaq Farooqi 3-34, Muhammad Rohid Khan 2-15)