ABU DHABI: Sherfane Rutherford and Alex Hales hammered stroke-filled half centuries and captain Colin Munro played a cameo as Desert Vipers defeated MI Emirates in the 15th match of the DP World ILT20 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium Tuesday night.
Desert Vipers restricted MI Emirates to 169-5 in the stipulated overs before racing to victory in 16.3 overs for the loss of just three wickets.
Hales hit an unbeaten 62 off 44 balls with six boundaries and two sixes while Rutherford scored a breezy unbeaten 56 off 29 balls with four boundaries and three sixes to put on an unbeaten 94 off 52 balls for the fourth wicket.
Skipper Munro set the momentum through a fine knock of 41 off 22 balls with four boundaries and three sixes.
The trio’s aggressive batting overshadowed Kieron Pollard’s 39-ball 67 not out that included a boundary and six sixes and Nicholas Pooran’s 57 off 49 balls. He hit four boundaries and two sixes. The West Indian pair added 116 runs for the fourth wicket in 69 balls.
Desert Vipers moved to the top position in the points table with eight points from five matches. MI Emirates remained in third slot with six points from five matches.
Speaking about their performance Desert Vipers’ Sherfane Rutherford said, “I want to keep things simple and just watch the ball. I was just trying to react to the ball. The key was just to use the pace and that worked for me.”
Meanwhile, MI Emirates’ Trent Boult said, “It becomes easier to bat in the second innings here. I thought they played extremely well. They timed their innings quite nicely. That’s a luxury when you’re chasing 170.”
Brief scores: Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates by 7 wickets.
MI Emirates 169-5 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 57, Kieron Pollard 67no; Tom Curran 2-38). Desert Vipers 170-3 in 16.3 overs (Alex Hales 62no, Colin Munro 41, Sherfane Rutherford 56no; Samit Patel 2-23).
Player of Match ($1500): Sherfane Rutherford.
DP World smart delivery of the day ($1500): Tom Curran’s yorker to dismiss Pooran.
Fairplay News biggest hit of the match ($1500): Colin Munro’s six of 106 metres.
Skytech.Net Super 4s of the match ($1500): Alex Hales (six boundaries).
Sportsbuzz Buzzmaker of the match ($1500): Kieron Pollard for scoring 106 fantasy points.
Green Belt Holder: Alex Hales
White Belt Holder: Chris Jordan
