Dubai Capitals may have only sneaked into the ILT20 playoffs, taking the fourth and the last spot, but they roared into the final on Thursday.
Having outplayed the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the Eliminator in their emphatic 85-run win on Tuesday, the Capitals turned the screw on the Gulf Giants in the Qualifier 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Such was their dominance that the defending champions showed the white flag in the Capitals’ powerplay overs.
Having crawled to 136 for six on a slow surface, the Giants’ looked clueless after the Capitals raced to 73 for 0 in six overs.
Their only shot at making a comeback was early wickets.
But once Capitals openers Tom Banton (38 off 38) and Leus du Plooy (63 not out off 40 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes), especially the latter, started displaying an astounding range of shots in the powerplay, it was game over for Giants.
The Capitals’ magnificent nine-wicket win set up a mouthwatering final battle with MI Emirates.
It could be a cracker of a contest on Saturday at the Dubai International Stadium with both finalists now showing some serious form.
Earlier, the Capitals bowling attack produced a superb display with their pacers and spinners combining beautifully to keep the batters on a tight leash, rarely allowing them the freedom to free their arms and swing their bats.
James Vince (58 off 53 balls), the explosive England batter and Giants captain, waged a lone battle as none of his teammates in the top-order and the middle-order showed the skills and the temperament to counter the bowlers and a slow wicket.
The biggest disappointment was Shimron Hetmyer (8), their IPL stalwart.
After walking in at 40 for four in the eighth over with Vince in dire need of a solid partner at the other end, the West Indies T20 star failed yet again as a leading edge off Scott Christopher Kuggeleijn brought his downfall.
Chris Jordan (30 not out off 29 balls) did put up a fight in his 55-run partnership with Vince, but it never put the opponents under any kind of threat.
The total of 138 was never going to challenge the Capitals which perfectly executed their batting plans to cruise into the final.
Du Plooy, the uncapped South African batter, came up with a fine exhibition of shot-making to help the Capitals reach the target with nine wickets and 25 balls to spare.
“It was good fun out there, our bowlers bowled really well to give us a chaseable score, luckily I and Banton got off to a flier,” the South African, who was named man-of-the-match, said.
“Just tried to stay as busy as possible, not face too many dots. Just walking this into the environment, lads get along well. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, great group of lads.”
Sam Billings, Capitals captain, said his team got the basics right on Thursday.
“Clarity and sticking to basic cricket and coming with a formula worked for us,” the England player said.
“It’s about going back to basics, having courage with the bowling unit to hold your length…if one of the top five gets 50-plus, the whole game is in your favour.
“I can’t do anything with the players if they don’t have capability, drive and effort. It’s all about making informed decisions.”
Vince, on the other hand, blamed the conditions for their bowlers’ inability to hit back at the Capitals.
“In hindsight, conditions got better (in the evening) when dew came in. I think if we got it right with the ball upfront, it was parish score, but it was hard to get the momentum back,” he said.
“We still finished second on the table, I don’t think we were able to replicate the form and performances that we showed last year. We got great support from backroom staff, coaching staff and everyone.”
Billings, his counterpart, is now brimming with confidence as the Capitals gear up for Saturday’s final.
“Anything can happen in the final; we can be confident with our recent form,” he said.
“We won’t take them for granted, we know they (MI Emirates) are world-class, but they should be respecting us. If we play our best cricket, we are tough to beat.”
Brief scores:
Dubai Capitals beat Gulf Giants by nine wickets.
Gulf Giants 138 for 6 in 20 overs (James Vince 58, Usman Khan 21, Chris Jordan 30n.o) Dubai Capitals 139 for 1 in 15.5 overs (Leus du Plooy 63n.o, Tom Banton 38, Tom Abell 20n.o)
Player of the match: Leus du Plooy