Dubai Capitals, owned by the GMR Group, fell to a 101-run defeat against the Gulf Giants in match eight of ILT20 2023 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday, January 19.

Dasun Shanaka (23) and Akif Raja (2/23) were the top performers for Dubai, while the Giants triumphed thanks to the match-winning displays of James Vince (76) and David Wiese (3/3).

Dubai Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Rovman Powell-led side made four changes from the previous game, with Fabian Allen, Yusuf Pathan, Chirag Suri and Chamika Karunaratne replacing Sikandar Raza, Hazrat Luqman, Ravi Bopara and Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

Gulf Giants, meanwhile, made a solitary change with Chris Lynn coming in for Ollie Pope.

After conceding 21 runs in the opening two overs, the Capitals made the first breakthrough with Isuru Udana dismissing Rehan Ahmed. The Sri Lankan’s slower ball delivery forced Ahmed to drive down the shot towards skipper Rovman Powell at mid-off. The Englishman departed for 12 runs in eight balls.

The Giants’ powerplay phase ended with a score of 48/1, with captain James Vince taking over the scoring duties and Chris Lynn supporting him.

The 31-year-old Vince reached his third successive ILT20 half-century in 33 balls while pivoting the Gulf Giants past 100 in 11.4 overs.

Lynn played a cameo of a run-a-ball 25 runs and was Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s first wicket of the evening. The Australian top-order batter miscued a shot, with the leading edge going straight into the hands of Chamika Karunaratne at long-off.

Gerhard Erasmus would be dismissed on the 10th delivery since Chris Lynn’s wicket. Capitals captain Rovman Powell pushed Erasmus to direct his shot for a drive towards deep point; however, it met the hands of Isuru Udana, who completed the simplest of catches.

The second timeout of the first innings proved effective for the Dubai Capitals, as Akif Raja claimed the scalps of James Vince (76 off 48 balls) and David Wiese (0) in successive deliveries in his final over. The UAE bowler completed his four overs with two wickets for 23 runs.

Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 37 in 19 balls propelled the Gulf Giants from 131/5 in 16 overs to 181/6 in 20 overs.

Chasing 182, Dubai Capitals were startled in the first over as top-scorer Robin Uthappa departed for just one run. Richard Gleeson’s back-of-a-length delivery took a nick of the former’s bat and went straight to wicketkeeper Ashwant Valthapa.

Going forward, the Capitals struggled to keep up against the bowling of David Wiese (3/3) and Chris Jordan (3/12). Dasun Shanaka (23) and Joe Root (20) were the only Dubai batters to register double-digit scores as the visitors saw their innings end at 80 all out.