A tough outing for the Giants as they face defeat against the Desert Vipers

The Gulf Giants endured their second defeat of the DP World ILT20 as they went down to the Desert Vipers in Dubai on December 12, despite a spirited recovery with the bat.

Anchor Asif Khan and Liam Dawson’s late surge power the Giants to a fighting score

Asked to bat first, the Giants faced early challenges as the Vipers’ disciplined bowling reduced them to 30 for 4 inside the powerplay, putting the innings under immediate pressure. On a surface offering early movement, rebuilding became the priority.

Kyle Mayers led the initial fightback with a positive 30 off 24 balls, injecting momentum and helping steady the innings. That recovery was further strengthened by Asif Khan, who held firm with a composed 36 not out off 38 deliveries. Alongside Azmatullah Omarzai (20 off 15), Asif stitched together a crucial middle-overs partnership to guide the Giants out of trouble.

The finishing touches came from Liam Dawson, whose explosive 38 not out off just 14 balls in the death overs lifted the Giants to a respectable 157 for 7 at the end of 20 overs.

Chris Wood impresses, but Sam Curran and Max Holden take the Vipers home comfortably

Defending the total, the Giants made an early inroad when Chris Wood removed Fakhar Zaman, but a dominant partnership between Sam Curran (67 off 43) and Max Holden (64 off 41) saw the Vipers chase the target comfortably, sealing victory with eight wickets in hand and 19 balls to spare.

Giants eye a bounce back

While the result didn’t go their way, the Giants once again showed resilience and character. Having bounced back earlier in the tournament, they’ll look to do so again when they face Sharjah Warriorz on December 15, a side they defeated convincingly earlier, as they aim to complete the league double and return to winning ways.