Sam Curran hit an unbeaten 74 from 51 balls, studded with eight fours and two sixes, to take his team to an unassailable 182/4. He was well supported by Max Holden (41 off 32) and the late strike of Dan Lawrence (23 off 15). Naseem Shah (18/3), Usman Tariq (20/2) and Khuzaima Tanveer (22/2) led the bowling effort before David Payne‘s three-wicket haul (3/42) restricted MI Emirates to 136.
Fans at Dubai International Stadium were treated to a spectacular build-up ahead of the final, with a dazzling fireworks display and a drone show lighting up the night sky. The pre-match extravaganza created a carnival-like atmosphere as thousands of spectators enjoyed the visual spectacle that celebrated the competition and set the stage for the biggest clash of the season.
The Vipers skipper capped an impressive tournament by finishing with both the Red Belt (Most Valuable Player) and the Green Belt (Best Hitter). The England all-rounder ended the memorable season with 397 runs, including three half-centuries, and supplemented his batting efforts with seven wickets and 10 catches.
In the second innings, the Vipers’ Naseem Shah set the tone early by removing Andre Fletcher (10 off 11) and Tom Banton (7 off 6), while Khuzaima Tanveer capitalized with the key wicket of Muhammad Waseem (26 off 13). MI Emirates lost three wickets inside six overs to crawl to 46/3, leaving Shakib Al Hasan and Sanjay Krishnamurthi with a lot of work to do.
Usman Tariq turned up the heat by dismissing Sanjay Krishnamurthi (2 off 9) in the eighth over. Shakib Al Hasan (36 off 27) tried to keep the innings steady with calculated strokes, but boundaries were difficult to achieve. With Kieron Pollard struggling to break free, MI Emirates reached 72/4 after 10 overs and fell further behind in the chase.
MI Emirates’ hopes remained high Shakib Al-Hasan and Kieron Pollard (28 off 27), who completed their 50-run stand in 38 balls before Tariq struck a decisive blow by removing Shakib, taking the equation to a daunting 61 from the last four overs.
After Naseem Shah removed Kieron Pollard to end any late resistance, David Payne tore through the lower order to take three wickets in the 18th over. Khuzaima Tanveer sealed the title by clattering onto Muhammad Rohid’s stumps (3 off 4) as the Vipers wrapped up the match with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, the Vipers started the powerplay lively as Fakhar Zaman (20 off 15) and Jason Roy (11 off 7) played 34/0 in the first three overs. The momentum shifted in the fourth to then Fazalhaq Farooqi struck twice to dismiss both openers. Sam Curran responded emphatically, smashing three successive boundaries in the final of the powerplay to take the Vipers to 59/2.
Curran then joined forces with Max Holden, running the attack efficiently and attacking smartly to take the Vipers to 83/2 at half-time. The duo completed their 50-run stand in the 11th over, off just 39 balls. Curran kept the offensive going while Holden played the role of anchor before Arab Gul ended their 89-run partnership off 64 balls with Holden’s wicket in the 15th over.
The Vipers captain continued to pile on the pressure and brought up his half-century off 39 balls in the 17th over. His fourth-wicket partnership with And Laurens (23 off 15) sparked the death overs as they added 57 runs in just 33 balls to take the team to 182/4.
The White Belt (Best Bowler) was claimed by Waqar Salamkheil of Dubai Capitals, who topped the bowling charts with 18 wickets. Meanwhile, MI Emirates’ Muhammad Waseem clinched the UAE’s Best Player Blue Belt for the fourth consecutive campaign after scoring 370 runs in Season 4. The winners of the DP World ILT20 signature belts received $15,000 each.
Player of the match and Desert Vipers skipper Sam Curran said
“I was nervous going into the final. The players, management and owners have been excellent and it will be a big celebration tonight. Nerves are natural, and I think they help. You never quite know how the pitch will play, and losing Gous to injury in the warm-up tested us, but it showed the strength of our group and our line-up. MI are a quality side, but over the course of the season we have been the most consistent team and I think we deserved the trophy.”
MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard said
“To be honest, things went wrong in the field. The start wasn’t sharp enough. In a final, those moments matter. Take away 15-20 runs and suddenly 160 becomes very chaseable. This is the moment when you need players to step up, and we didn’t. The Vipers deserved to win. I still felt 180 was chaseable, but losing early wickets held us back. Sam batted well, and overall it was it was a fantastic tournament, from where we started to where we finished for us.”
Short scores
Desert Vipers defeated MI Emirates by 46 runs
Desert vipers 182/4 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 74 not out, Max Holden 41, And Laurens 23, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2 for 33)
MI Emirates 136 all out in 18.3 overs (Shakib Al-Hasan 36, Kieron Pollard 28, Mohammed Waseem 26, Naseem Shah 3 for 18, David Payne 3 for 42, Usman Tariq 2 for 20, Khuzaima Tanveer 2 for 22)
Player of the match: Sam Curran
ILT20 Season 4 belt winners
| Belt | Given to | Receiving player | Team |
| Black belt | Winner | Desert vipers | |
| Red Belt | Most Valuable Player | Sam Curran | Desert vipers |
| Green Belt | Best batter | Sam Curran | Desert vipers |
| White belt | Best bowler | Waqar Salamkheil | Capitals of Dubai |
| Blue belt | Best UAE player | Mohammed Waseem | MI Emirates |
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