We find out who the opponents will be for the Desert Vipers in the inaugural International League T20 final when the Gulf Giants take on the MI Emirates in the ILT20 Qualifier 2 contest in Dubai on Friday.
The equation for these two is a pretty simple one. The winner stays around to face the Vipers in the final on Sunday while the losers will be watching that title showdown from afar, so there is plenty on the line here.
Gulf Giants
I always think that the team who enter this match off the back of a defeat is the one under real pressure. The Gulf Giants have already had one go at making the final which they made a bit of a mess of and now they will be looking to make it there at the second attempt. When they strip things down, they will know the reason they were so keen to finish in the top two this season was to get this second chance at things so there is no need to panic.
They are going to need to bat better in this match than they did in that first Qualifier against the Vipers on Wednesday. They weren’t helped with an injury to Tom Banton when he was keeping wicket but at no stage really were they looking their convincing selves and then they collapsed in a heap to Wanindu Hasaranga and never really had much of a chance after that. Generally they’ve bowled well so if they can sort out their batting for one last big push they can still make the final.
MI Emirates
One of the reasons why the team who lose the first Qualifier are under pressure is because the team who faces them go into the second Qualifier off the back of a victory and feeling good about themselves. That will be the case for the MI Emirates team but they do have the slightly weird situation of having to back up a performance the day after their last outing. The emotional pressures of knockout cricket ensure that certainly isn’t an easy thing to overcome.
One huge positive to help them in their quest to make the final is that MI Emirates have been able to take advantage of MI Cape Town stinking the place out in the SA20 to recruit Rashid Khan for the latter part of this tournament. They have never had a problem with batting firepower so the fact that they can add some serious skill with the ball to their ranks should serve them well. It certainly did in the Eliminator and they’ll be hoping for a repeat performance here.
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Key Players
Given the power that is on show with the bat for the MI Emirates, David Wiese could well be a key man for the Gulf Giants in this match. He is the second leading wicket taker in the tournament and he could also be the difference between the Giants getting a good score and a great one when he has the bat in hand.
When you consider how the Gulf Giants fell in a heap to the wily leg spin of Wanindu Hasaranga in their last match, the four overs of Rashid Khan could be massive in proceedings in this one. He too can clout a ball down the order as well.
Betting
The Gulf Giants were by far the better team of these two in the regular season and at even money I’ll back them to be the better side when they meet in this Qualifier. MI Emirates were not only the weaker of the two sides in the regular season but they come into this match having played on Thursday and having to back that up here. I always make the point that doing that is never easy but it might be harder for the Emirates side.
I say that because their match on Thursday was in Sharjah and now they head back to Dubai where the conditions are completely different so they will need to adjust immediately or else they could let the Giants get away from them. Gulf Giants have the two leading wicket takers in the tournament and if the old adage that bowlers win tournaments rings true then you have to think that the Gulf outfit, who have plenty of batting depth, can get the job done here.
Tips
Back Gulf Giants to beat MI Emirates for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
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