{"id":584,"date":"2026-01-05T15:36:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T10:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/?post_type=news&#038;p=584"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:33:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:03:56","slug":"sam-curran-stars-as-desert-vipers-win-ilt20","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/news\/sam-curran-stars-as-desert-vipers-win-ilt20\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Curran Stars as Desert Vipers Win ILT20 Title"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Desert Vipers finally ended their wait for silverware as they clinched their maiden DP World ILT20 title, defeating MI Emirates by 46 runs in the final at a packed Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The victory marked a historic moment for the franchise, which had suffered heartbreak in previous finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Led by captain Sam Curran, the Vipers delivered a complete performance with both bat and ball in the title clash of the ILT20 <a href=\"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/series\">series<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Curran played a captain\u2019s knock, scoring an unbeaten 74 off 51 balls, laced with eight fours and two sixes, to guide his team to a competitive 182 for 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;He received valuable support from Max Holden (41 off 32) and Dan Lawrence (23 off 15), who provided late momentum in the death overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Vipers started briskly before losing both openers, Fakhar Zaman and Jason Roy, in quick succession. However, Curran absorbed the pressure and rebuilt the innings with maturity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His 89-run partnership with Holden laid the foundation, while a rapid stand with Lawrence ensured a strong finish, with 46 runs coming in the final four overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In reply, MI Emirates never found rhythm in their chase. Naseem Shah struck early, removing Andre Fletcher and Tom Banton, while Khuzaima Tanveer dismissed the&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">dangerous Muhammad Waseem to leave MIE reeling at 46 for 3 inside the powerplay. Despite a brief resistance from Shakib Al Hasan and Kieron Pollard, the asking rate continued to climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Usman Tariq (2\/20) applied the squeeze in the middle overs before David Payne (3\/42) ripped through the lower order, picking up three wickets in a decisive spell.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naseem finished with an outstanding 3 for 18, as MI Emirates were bowled out for 136 in 18.3 overs, sealing a comprehensive win for the Vipers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Curran capped off a memorable tournament by claiming both the Red Belt (Most Valuable Player) and the Green Belt (Best Batter).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He finished the season with 397 runs, three half-centuries, seven wickets, and 10 catches, underlining his all-round impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The victory also highlighted the competitive nature of the league, with the ILT20 now having four different champions in four seasons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After falling short twice before, Desert Vipers finally broke the jinx, lifting the trophy and pocketing USD 700,000, while runners-up MI Emirates earned USD 300,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":585,"template":"","tags":[310,311,312],"ppma_author":[488],"class_list":["post-584","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-desert-vipers","tag-ilt20-final","tag-sam-curran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}