Dubai Capitals, owned by the GMR Group, came roaring back after consecutive defeats to win by 16 runs against a solid MI Emirates side in match 13 of the ILT20 2023 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, January 22. 

MI Emirates won the toss and elected to bowl first, giving Dubai Capitals a chance to put a solid target on the board. The team made two changes with Hazrat Luqman and debutant Fred Klaassen replacing Chirag Suri and Isuru Udana in the starting line-up. 

Joe Root and Robin Uthappa started well for Dubai Capitals, rapidly scoring runs to take the team to 59/0 within the powerplay overs. Uthappa was ably playing the supporting role against a free-flowing Root before he was caught out for 26 off 23. 

Captain Rovman Powell entered the fray and forged a solid partnership with Root in the middle. Powell’s power-hitting ensured Dubai Capitals completed the milestone of 100 runs by the 12th over. While the skipper cruised to a swash-buckling 50 off 22 runs, Root went on to register a half-century second time in a row.

The onslaught continued, and even after Root lost his wicket in the 19th over for an impressive 82 off 54, Powell went on with his job. He scored a whopping 20 runs in the last over off Kieron Pollard, but fell just short of a well-deserved century to end the night at 97 runs off 41. By the end of 20 overs, Dubai Capitals had set MI Emirates a target of 223 runs. 

Dubai Capitals began their defence as they had ended their attack. Debutant Klaassen and Luqman kept their overs tight before Chamika Karunaratne struck in the fifth over, taking Muhammad Waseem out of the picture as well as registering a wicket-maiden. 

By the end of the powerplay, MI Emirates were languishing at 26/3. Pollard’s entry gave the MI Emirates a much-needed boost and slowly they were edging towards the target. Pollard was taking the bowlers for a ride with regular maximums, before falling prey to skipper Powell and exiting the field with a brisk 86 off 38 balls. 

Najibullah Zadran tried to shorten the score gap in the last few overs but couldn’t overcome the target. The chase ended at 206/5, with Dubai Capitals picking up crucial points to climb to the top four in the points table.