News DeskDubai, UAE – The third edition of the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament began in dramatic fashion at the ICC Academy, Dubai, with four matches across the opening two days producing thrilling finishes, including two decided off the final delivery.
The competition, designed to showcase UAE’s emerging cricketers ahead of the DP World ILT20 2025 Player Auction, witnessed victories for Desert Vipers Development, Dubai Capitals Development, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development and Gulf Giants Development.
On Monday night, Dubai Capitals Development edged Gulf Giants Development by five runs. Mohammed Irfan cracked his second successive half-century (68 off 34) while Sohaib Khan added 35, but Zahid Ali (4-18) and Ajay Kumar (3-29) restricted the Capitals to 163. Jonathan Figy (67 off 46) waged a lone battle in reply before a combined bowling effort, led by Abdulrahman Nasir Riaz (3-18), sealed the Capitals’ first win.
Earlier, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development overcame Sharjah Warriorz Development by four wickets. Warriorz posted 169/7 with Mohit Kalyan top scoring (34 off 22). Usaid Amin (3-26) and Sanchit Sharma (2-38) did the early damage, but it was Ali Abid’s unbeaten 80 off 44 balls, featuring five fours and six sixes, that guided Knight Riders home with three balls to spare.
Sunday evening saw Gulf Giants Development pull off a last-ball, two-wicket victory over MI Emirates Development. Riding on Aryan Saxena’s 65 and Vishnu Sukumaran’s explosive 51, MI Emirates set 192/6. Giants’ reply was anchored by Jonathan Figy (60*), but the star turn came from Muhammad Aftab Alam (72 off 34), who swung the momentum before falling to Faraaz Uddin’s four-wicket burst. The Giants held their nerve to finish the chase with a boundary off the final ball.
The tournament’s opener between Desert Vipers Development and Dubai Capitals Development set the tone for the drama to follow. Chasing 211, the Vipers looked down and out at 79/6, but Taimoor Ali produced a stunning unbeaten 59 off 28 balls. Supported by Sanjay Pahal (35) and Nilansh Keswani (22), he led the Vipers to a one-wicket win in the final over, pulling off 45 runs in the last two overs.
The 18-match tournament continues until September 3, with matches streamed live on Fancode in India and StyxSports for global viewers.
Brief Scores:
- Dubai Capitals Dev. 163 (Irfan 68, Zahid 4-18) bt Gulf Giants Dev. 158/9 (Figy 67, Riaz 3-18) by 5 runs
- Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Dev. 170/6 (Abid 80*) bt Sharjah Warriorz Dev. 169/7 (Amin 3-26) by 4 wickets
- Gulf Giants Dev. 196/8 (Aftab Alam 72, Figy 60*) bt MI Emirates Dev. 192/6 (Saxena 65, Sukumaran 51) by 2 wickets
- Desert Vipers Dev. 211/9 (Taimoor Ali 59*) bt Dubai Capitals Dev. 210/6 (Khalid Shah 69, Irfan 53*) by 1 wicket
