The MI Emirates rebounded from an opening game defeat at the hands of the Dubai Capitals on Saturday with a 26-run win over the same opposition on Monday to get their first points of the 2025 International League T20 (ILT20) season on Monday.
Johnson Charles hit a belligerent 71 to help the Sharjah Warriorz defeat the Dubai Capitals by nine wickets in International League T20 (ILT20) action at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Charles’ knock came off just 33 balls and included three fours and eight massive sixes as the Warriorz needed just 11.5 overs to overhaul a target of 132, reaching 135-1.
The Capitals made a respectable 170-7 from their 20 overs after being asked to bat first by the Warriors.
Englishman Sam Billings led the way for Dubai with 52 while Zimbabwean Sikandar Raza hit 48 against 3-28 from Australian Daniel Sams and a pair of wickets, each, for Chris Woakes (2-21) and Maheesh Theekshana (2-32).
The Warriors then reached 171-5 with seven balls to spare to seal the win.
Charles needed only 51 balls to make 93, hitting eight fours and three sixes in the process.
He was supported by some good late cameos by Basil Hameed (24*) and Daniel Sams (16*).
Dushmantha Chameera led the way with the ball for the Capitals with 4-28 from his four overs.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Capitals were reduced to just 104 all out off 18.2 overs.
Sikandar Raza (22), Roelof van der Merwe (21), David Warner (16) and Rovman Powell (10) were the only Capitals batsmen to scratch double figures.
Theekshana produced a masterful spell of bowling to take 4-20 from his four overs while being well supported by Daniel Sams’ 3-28 off four.
The Warriors then needed only 13-1 overs to reach 105-1 and secure their third win in five games.
Charles top-scored with an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls including four fours and one six. Joe Denly was Charles’ partner at the crease with an unbeaten 23 off 16 balls. Earlier, Niroshan Dickwella made a 30-ball 37.
As they did in Qualifier 1, the Desert Vipers and the Dubai Capitals will lock horns once again, this time to determine the champion of the 2025 International League T20 (ILT20), after the Vipers secured a seven-wicket win over the Sharjah Warriorz in Qualifier 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The Dubai Capitals advanced to the final of the 2025 ILT20 after securing a five-wicket victory over the Desert Vipers on Wednesday. Despite the win, West Indies stars Rovman Powell and Shai Hope had minimal contributions in the match.
Gerhard Erasmus and Shimron Hetmyer played starring roles to lead the Gulf Giants to their first win of this season’s International League T20 (ILT20) on Saturday.
Holder’s three wickets for 36 runs, included the scalp of fellow West Indians Dwayne Bravo (two) and Akeal Hosein (seven), as well as Will Smeed (five), as Pooran’s MI Emirates, were restricted to 159-9, before being put to the sword by Dubai Capitals, who easily got to 160-3 with four overs to spare.
Scores: MI Emirates 159-9 (20 overs); Dubai Capitals 160-3 (16 overs)
Zimbabwe’s spinner Sikandar Raza also bagged three wickets for 21 runs from his four overs for the Capitals and was later named Man-of-the-Match, as his combination with Holder offered the opponents very little room to play their shots.
In fact, apart from opener Muhammad Waseem’s 26-ball 51 which included four sixes and two fours, only Andre Fletcher (30), Pooran (21) and Australian Tim David (27), got into double figures for MI Emirates, who were sent to bat by Dubai Capitals captain David Warner.

Fletcher had two sixes and three fours in his 18-ball knock, while Pooran had a solitary six and four in his 23-ball innings.
The Capitals run chase started shakily, as they lost Warner (one) with 15 runs on the board.
However, Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz (81) and 21-year-old Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk (54), steadied the innings with a 114-run second-wicket stand that erased whatever hopes MI Emirates had of securing victory.
Gurbaz slammed four sixes and eight fours in his 39-ball knock, while Fraser-McGurk, who was brought in for Paul Van Meekeren, had four sixes and four fours in his innings which used a mere 25 balls.
After both fell, Englishman Sam Billings (13 not out), and West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell (seven not out), saw the Capitals to victory.
New Zealand’s left-arm seamer Trent Boult led the Emirates bowling with two for 23 from four overs.
West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope enjoyed an excellent run of form during the league phase of the ongoing 2025 International League T20 (ILT20) season in the United Arab Emirates. The 31-year-old finished the season as the leading run-scorer with 467 runs in his 10 innings for the Dubai Capitals.
A second consecutive big score from Shai Hope wasn’t enough to prevent the Dubai Capitals from going down by five wickets to the Sharjah Warriorz in International league T20 (ILT20) action at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
West Indians Obed McCoy and Shai Hope both played major roles as the Dubai Capitals defeated the Desert Vipers by nine wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday to close out the preliminary phase of the 2025 International League T20 (ILT20). McCoy took 3-22 from his four overs to help the Capitals restrict the Vipers to 137 all out in 19.4 overs after skipper Sam Billings won the toss and chose to field first.
Batting first, Dubai Capitals mustered 152-5 from their 20 overs. In reply, MI Emirates scored 152-2 from 16.4 overs.
Dubai Capitals owed their total to George Munsey who scored 51 from 43 balls, Sikander Raza, 38, and Rovman Powell, 30. No other batter got into double figures against the tight bowling of Trent Boult 2-19 and Rashid Khan 2-20. Darren Bravo who dismissed Powell took 1-35.
Whatever struggles Dubai Capitals had on the pitch were barely evident when MI Emirates batted as Fletcher scored an unbeaten 68 from 45 balls, hitting four fours and four sixes along the way.
Pooran, who was named Player of the Match, was even better with his unbeaten 66 coming from just 36 balls and included three fours and five sixes as they raced to victory with 20 balls to spare.
Together, the Caribbean men scored 104 runs from 58 balls in what was a dominant performance.
Despite a 40-ball 61 from captain Nicholas Pooran, defending champions MI Emirates opened their 2025 International League T20 (ILT20) campaign with an agonizing one-run loss to the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
After being put in to bat by the Capitals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, MI piled up an intimidating 208-3 from their 20 overs.
Pooran, batting at number four, led the way with a 27-ball 57* including two fours and six sixes while Fletcher, who batted at three, provided excellent support with 53 off 37 balls including three fours and four sixes.
Openers Muhammad Waseem and Kusal Perera each had good contributions as well making 43 and 38, respectively.
Left-arm wrist spinner Zahir Khan was the Capitals best bowler on the day with 1-21 from his four overs.
The Capitals were then never able to recover from losing in form opener Leus du Plooy off just the second ball of the chase when he was trapped in front by Akeal Hosein.
Captain Sam Billings and Tom Banton tried their best with 40 and 35, respectively, but it proved to not be enough as Dubai were eventually restricted to 163-7 from their 20 overs.
Jason Holder made 24 while Rovman Powell made just eight.
Trent boult was excellent with the ball taking 2-20 from four overs while Vijayakanth Viyaskanth took 2-24 from his four overs.
Pooran was adjudged player of the match while Capitals all-rounder Sikandar Raza was named player of the tournament.
Full Scores: MI Emirates 208-3 off 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 57*, Andre Fletcher 53, Muhammad Waseem 43, Kusal Perera 38)
Dubai Capitals 163-7 off 20 overs (Sam Billings 40, Tom Banton 35, Trent Boult 2-20, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-24)
Capitals skipper Powell top scored with 48 while Indian Robin Uthappa got 43 to lead the team to a competitive 187-6 from their 20 overs.
Powell’s knock came off just 29 balls and included three fours and as many sixes while Uthappa’s innings lasted 33 deliveries with three fours and one less six.
Joe Root and Sikandar Raza also both chipped in with 26, respectively, against two wickets apiece from Ravi Rampaul (2-36 from four overs) and Ali khan (2-45 from three overs). Captain Sunil Narine and Andre Russell were the other wicket-takers.
Powell also produced the goods with the ball with 2-15 from two overs as the Knight Riders were reduced to just 114-9 off their 20 overs
Mujeeb Ur Rahman was also excellent with the ball conceding just 16 runs in four overs to go along with his two wickets.
Paul Stirling was the only Knight Riders batsman to produce any resistance with a 38-ball 54 including five fours and two sixes.
Powell, the Player of the Match, hit four fours and 10 sixes while powering Dubai Capitals for 222-3 from their 20 overs. Powell featured in a second-wicket partnership of 121 from just 57 balls with former England captain Joe Root, who scored 82 from 54 balls.
Root and Robin Uthappa had laid the foundation with an opening stand of 78 from 53 balls before the latter was dismissed for 26.
Powell was eventually dismissed by Kieron Pollard from the last ball of the innings, but the damage was already done.
Chasing the highest score in the tournament so far, MI Emirates lost three wickets for 26 runs early including that of Nicholas Pooran for a duck in the sixth over.
His dismissal brought together Pollard and Andre Fletcher and together that made things interesting for Dubai that came into the game on the back of three consecutive losses.
Together, Pollard and Fletcher went on the offensive smashing balls to all parts as they stitched together a stand of 118 with the Trinidadian scoring the bulk of those runs, 86 from 38 balls with eight fours and six sixes before he was dismissed by Powell in the 16th over with his side still needing 79 from the last 24 balls.
Najibullah Zadran got them closer with a quickfire 30 from just nine balls but once he fell, yorked by Fred Klaasen in the 19th over, the remaining runs proved elusive despite the best efforts of Fletcher, who remained unbeaten on 35 at the end with MI Emriates on 206-5.
Dubai Capitals captain Rovman Powell delivered a match-winning performance when it mattered most, guiding his team to their first ILT20 title with a thrilling four-wicket victory over the Desert Vipers in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Powell’s 63 off 38 balls earned him the Player of the Match award as the Capitals successfully chased down 190 to claim the championship.
Jamaican all-rounder Rovman Powell delivered a match-winning performance as the Dubai Capitals claimed the 2025 ILT20 title with a thrilling four-wicket victory over the Desert Vipers in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Powell’s crucial 63 off 38 balls earned him the Player of the Match award, guiding the Capitals to their maiden championship triumph.
Shai Hope and Obed McCoy’s Dubai Capitals handed Sherfane Rutherford’s Desert Vipers their first loss of this season’s International League T20 on Monday.
Shai Hope's rich vein of form continued on Sunday as his composed 74 not out off 53 balls powered the Dubai Capitals to an eight-wicket victory over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20 League. Chasing a formidable target of 204, Hope anchored the innings masterfully, forming a record-breaking 135-run partnership with Gulbadin Naib to seal the Capitals' triumph.