Powell, Raza fire Dubai Capitals to maiden ILT20 title

Rovman Powell's 38-ball 63 and a crucial 12-ball 34 not out by Sikandar Raza helped Dubai Capitals become the ILT20 2025 champions with a four-wicket win over Desert Vipers. Max Holden's 51-ball 76 and Sam Curran's 62 not out off 33 helped the Vipers post a competitive 189/5. The Capitals slipped to 31/3 in reply before Shai Hope (43 off 39) and Powell put on an important 80-run stand. Powell also added 41 with Dasun Shanaka but quick wickets tilted the game in Vipers' favour, only for Raza to blow it away from them in the last two overs as the Capitals won with four deliveries to spare.

Asked to bat first, Alex Hales got off to a promising start with a boundary in the opening over. However, his stay was short-lived as he mistimed a shot and was caught at midwicket off Obed McCoy's bowling. The Vipers suffered another early blow when McCoy dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, but Max Holden counterattacked with a flurry of boundaries - scoring nine of them within the powerplay - propelling the Vipers to 53/2 after six overs.

Sensing the need for control, the Capitals introduced spin, with Qais Ahmad and Haider Ali tightening the screws for a couple of overs. However, Raza conceded two boundaries in his first over, and Holden, having reached a brisk 32-ball fifty, was handed a reprieve soon after. The breakthrough eventually came for the Capitals when Haider removed Dan Lawrence, leaving the Vipers at 76/3 at the halfway mark.

Curran joined Holden and the duo kept the scoreboard ticking with smart rotation of strike and timely boundaries, guiding the Vipers to the 100-run mark in 13 overs. A 14-run over off Qais Ahmad, featuring a six from Curran, provided the momentum heading into the final five overs. Holden's fine knock came to an end in the 16th over when Raza struck, but Azam Khan wasted no time making an impact, smashing a four and a six in the same over.

Curran then took charge, striking three fours off McCoy in the 18th over, which yielded 16 runs. A six and a couple off Scott Kuggeleijn in the 19th over helped the Vipers captain bring up a 28-ball fifty and he capped off the innings with another maximum in the final over, ensuring his team finished with a strong total.

Hope and David Warner each struck a boundary at the start of the chase before the latter was bowled by David Payne off an inside edge. Mohammad Amir then trapped Gulbadin Naib lbw before Sam Billings escaped when the Vipers opted not to review for an edge. However, it wasn't costly as Amir dismissed Billings in his next over, getting him to glove a slower delivery. The Vipers kept the Capitals in check, restricting them to 39/3 in the powerplay.

Powell had a lucky break as Azam collected the ball in line with the stumps, costing Nathan Sowter a dismissal off a stumping. Powell went on to hit a six in the same over and then took on Curran, striking a maximum along with two fours in a 16-run over. Hope, who was playing a measured knock, hit his first six by going over deep midwicket off Sowter, as the fourth wicket pair raised a half-century stand and helped the Capitals to 86/3 after 10 overs.

The Capitals reached the 100 mark an over quicker than the Vipers, with the well-paced partnership keeping them on track although the required rate was going up. Curran came back into the attack to break the partnership, bowling a slower cutter to get Hope caught on the sweep at deep midwicket. Shanaka was put down by Gurbaz at deep midwicket off Sowter, sandwiched between two much-needed boundaries by Powell as he got to a 30-ball 50.

With 65 needed off 30 balls, the onus was on Powell and Shanaka to lead the Capitals towards the finish line. Both struck maximums off Curran in a 16-run 16th over and Shanaka also hit a six off Payne before getting caught at long on. With 37 needed off the last three overs, Raza and Powell hit two fours off Sowter but the Middlesex legspinner picked up the vital scalp of the West Indian.

The Capitals needed 24 off 12 when Amir came back on for his final over and he ended up going for 15, with Raza hitting three fours and also retaining the strike for the final over. Raza finished it off with a six and a four off the first two balls of the final over bowled by Khuzaima Tanveer as the Capitals became the third team to lift the ILT20 title.

Brief scores: Desert Vipers 189/5 in 20 overs (Max Holden 76, Sam Curran 62*; Obed McCoy 2-44) lost to Dubai Capitals 191/6 in 19.2 overs (Rovman Powell 63, Shai Hope 43; David Payne 2-28) by 4 wickets