WATCH: Shimron Hetmyer pulls off stunning effort to dismiss Nicholas Pooran in ILT20 2025-26

In a pulsating ILT20 2025-26 meeting on December 9 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Desert vipers facing outwards MI Emirates by a lone run in the ninth game, maintaining their undefeated streak with a fourth straight win. Vipers batted first and posted 159/4 in 20 overs powered by Max Holden‘s grainy 42 out of 37 and Fakhar Zaman‘s fluent 35 out of 31, despite Andries Gous early retirement hurt on 21 off 15. MI Emirates, chasing 160, faltered dramatically to finish on 158/9, with David Payne‘s astute 4/29 proves decisive in the death overs

Shimron Hetmyer’s breathtaking catch gets Nicholas Pooran out of the way

The decisive moment of the game came at 13.5 overs Shimron Hetmyer pulled off a breathtaking diving catch to dismiss Nicholas Pooran out Sam Curranwhich changes the momentum decisively. Pooran, on 31 off 29 with four boundaries, mistimed a short delivery from Curran and dragged it flat and hard to deep midwicket.

Hetmyer, patrolling the boundary, sprinted to his left before executing a full-length horizontal dive, neatly pocketing the screamer to leave MI Emirates at 98/3. This athletic gem, likened to a hawk ensnaring prey, not only ended a threatening 42-run tie between Pooran and Tom Banton but sparked the Vipers defense

Here’s the video:

That’s a screamerrrrr! 🤯🔥

All it could take was a huge catch to send away a high-flying Pooran. 🙌#DPWorldILT20 #AllInForCricket #WhereTheWereldPlays pic.twitter.com/2T06qgEKWi

— International League T20 (@ILT20Official) December 9, 2025

Also WATCH: Sam Curran picks a screamer to remove Gulbadin Naib and recreates Afghan star’s signature celebration in ILT20 2025-26

Desert Vipers’ tactical advantage ensures a nail-biting victory against MI Emirates

Vipers’ innings gained traction in the powerplay, racing to 51/0 before Gous’s retirement hurt, with an opening stand of 50 runs in 36 balls fueling the early momentum. Holden’s anchoring strike included a tactical twist then, after Pooran controversially turned down a stupid chance Rashid KhanVipers bowled him out with 15.6 overs (118/2), ushering in Hetmyer (15 off 9, with a six) and And Laurens (15* off 8) for a crucial late surge of 41 runs in the last four overs to post 160.​

In the chase, MI Emirates flew to 49/1 in the powerplay, led by Mohammed Waseem‘s 24 and Banton’s aggressive 34 off 29, passing 50 in 6.1 overs. Post-Hetmyer’s stunner, wickets tumbled: Payne removed Banton (101/4), Kieron Pollard (23 off 13, 144/7), and more in a great 19th place, giving three scalps for one run. Tajinder Singh‘s brisk 17 off 7 (two sixes) took them to 150/7 with 19.4 overs, but Rashid Khan‘s brave 13* from 8 (six and four) fell one run short on the last ball, sealed by Vritya Aravind‘s sharp spout. Payne earned Player of the Match for dismantling the chase

This one-off heist at the top of the table cemented Vipers’ dominance as MI Emirates rue squandered starts in a match that combines athleticism, strategy and sheer drama.

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