- Gous became the first player from an Associate Nation to score a century in DP World ILT20 history, bringing up the first century of Season 4
- Gous and Zaman put on the highest opening stand of 157 runs in the DP World ILT20, taking the Vipers to 233/1
- Debutant Usman Tariq led the charge with the ball, bagging three crucial wickets to seal the win
- Match officials line up for the playoffs can be found here
- Tickets for DP World ILT20 Season 4 can be purchased from the ticketing platform Virgin Megastore – link: tickets.ilt20.ae
- For photos from DP World ILT20 Season 4, click here
Photo by CREIMAS / ILT20
Abu Dhabi, 30 December 2025: The Desert Vipers powered their way to the final of the DP World ILT20 Season 4 with a resounding 45-run victory over MI Emirates in Qualifier 1 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Led by Andries Gous’ unbeaten century, and Usman Tariq’s three-wicket haul, the Vipers qualified for their third final in four seasons of the DP World ILT20.
Meanwhile, MI Emirates will face the winner of the Eliminator between Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Dubai Capitals, to be played on 1 January.
A destructive partnership between Andries Gous (120* of 58) and Fakhar Zaman (69 off 50), followed by a late onslaught from Sam Curran (38* off 12) steered the Vipers to 233/1 – the highest total of this season.
Gous not only became the first centurion of the season, but also the first player from an Associate Nation to register a century across four seasons of the competition. His unbeaten 120 is also the highest individual score in the history of the league.
For the MI Emirates, Tom Banton’s fighting 63 in 27 balls, with six fours and four sixes fell short. Usman Tariq, making his DP World ILT20 debut, took three wickets for 33 runs in the middle overs to turn the tide and ensure that Vipers secured their place in the final with relative ease.
Chasing a mammoth total, Muhammad Waseem (41 off 32) showed early intent for the MI Emirates with three boundaries in the opening over. He rotated the strike with Andre Fletcher (4 off 7), who was dismissed by Khuzaima Tanveer in the fourth over, before Tom Banton hit a six and a four early in his innings. Their bright start ensured MI Emirates reached 53/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Banton changed gears post the powerplay, hitting Sam Curran for 18 runs in the ninth over and bringing up his 21-ball half-century in the process. However, Banton’s 81-run partnership off 43 balls with Waseem was broken by Naseem Shah in the 11th over, when the UAE batter holed out to Hassan Nawaz.
The Vipers asserted their dominance in the middle overs courtesy debutant Usman Tariq, who struck twice in two balls in the 12th over to get the dangerous Banton and then Sanjay Krishnamurthi for a duck. He added the scalp of Kieron Pollard (15 off 9) in the 14th over as the MI Emirates’ batting began to unravel.
David Payne joined the party in the 16th over to send Dan Mousley (7 off 11) packing as the match slid out of the MI Emirates’ hands. Despite a late push from Romario Shepherd (39* off 23), including 22 runs off Curran in the 18th over, the Vipers restricted their opponents to 188/7.
Asked to set a target, the Vipers sailed to 47/0 in the powerplay. After a watchful start, Gous broke the shackles in the fifth, dispatching Romario Shepherd for two consecutive sixes and a four in a 20-run over.
Gous kept the pressure on as he brought up a half-century in 29 balls, thumping three fours and three sixes in the process. The opening stand breached the 100-run mark in only 65 balls. Fakhar, whose first 25 runs came in 23 balls, quickly made amends in the middle overs. He struck Kieron Pollard for a six and a four in consecutive balls to race to a 36-ball fifty.
The pair found boundaries at will and went on to register the highest opening stand in the history of the DP World ILT20. The 157-run partnership was finally halted in the 16th over, when Allah Ghazanfar scalped Fakhar Zaman. Gous brought up his century in 53 balls as the final five overs saw 85 runs.
While Gous finished his unbeaten knock with seven fours and nine sixes, Sam Curran was also destructive with two fours and four sixes in his short, unbeaten stint. He smashed 20 runs in the final over to propel the Vipers to 233/1.
Player of the match Andries Gous said, “It was a really special moment for me. You don’t get many opportunities to score a hundred, so I truly cherished it. After the sixth over, we knew handling the wind would be key, and Fakhar batted superbly, which made my job a lot easier. Post powerplay, we were thinking in terms of 190–200, but then Sam played an unbelievable innings that pushed us all the way to 230.”
MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard said, “Chasing 233 was always going to be a stiff challenge. Losing by 45 runs is a big margin in T20 cricket, but I felt we conceded about 10–15 runs too many on what was a very good pitch. We’ve played and won plenty of games at this venue, though this surface was new to us and played well. One loss isn’t the end of the road—we still have another chance. You always want to get it done the first time, but this was one game where we fell away at the back end, and credit to the opposition for playing exceptionally well.”
Brief Scores
Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates by 45 runs
Desert Vipers 233/1 in 20 overs (Andries Gous 120 not out, Fakhar Zaman 69, Sam Curran 38, Allah Ghazanfar 1 for 37)
MI Emirates 188/7 in 20 overs (Tom Banton 63, Muhammad Waseem 41, Romario Shepherd 39 not out, Usman Tariq 3 for 33, David Payne 2 for 52, Naseem Shah 1 for 20)
Player of the match: Andries Gous
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