ILT20 Recap: Tom Curran's eventful week with 'Spirit of Cricket' drama and match-winning composure

The

Desert Vipers

became the first team to seal their spot in the playoffs of

ILT20

season three, Gulbadin Naib showed off his batting chops, and there were several good bowling performances, but all the action of the second week seemed to concentrate on Tom Curran. And that’s without even him coming up against brother Sam

Curran

, when the

Gulf Giants

are due to take on the Vipers on January 29.
Curran was at the centre of the action in both night games over the weekend, both resulting in close wins for the Giants. On the first night, his doziness brought forth a fresh surge of ‘Spirit of Cricket’ arguments, and on the second, his composed second-fiddle act meant the Giants were still in the thick of the points table.
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As it stands now, each team has played seven games and have three to go. The Vipers are sitting pretty on 12 points, Dubai Capitals have risen like a phoenix to be second with eight points. And all of MI Emirates, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, and the Giants are in a logjam of 6 points. Sharjah Warriorz are lagging behind on four points, but are still not out of reckoning.

Tom Curran’s action-packed weekend

The Giants were 135/6 in 18 overs, and needed 17 more to win against MI Emirates. Mark Adair drove Alzarri Joseph to long-off, where Kieron Pollard collected the ball in routine fashion and threw it back to keeper Nicholas Pooran. What was not routine was Curran seemingly forgetting that he was in the middle of a tricky chase, tapping his bat in the crease on completing a run and wandering down the pitch – even before the throw from Pollard had reached the keeper.
The ball was clearly not dead, and Pooran promptly whipped off the bails. The call was sent to the third umpire, who ruled it out. Curran seemed like a deer caught in the headlights, but had to start walking off.
However, Pooran then withdrew his appeal and called Curran back, giving him another lease of life. Curran was on 13 off 8 at the time, and he was out off the penultimate ball for 16 off 13.
So his stay didn’t end up costing MI Emirates, but Giants did seal a thrilling last-ball win. It could have gone differently with the pressure of another wicket at that point though. How much those two points will matter is anybody’s guess in such a tight table.

Curran was saved this time by Pooran’s grace, but should have had no grounds for complaint if the ‘Out’ decision had stood. He had wandered out of his crease when the ball was still ‘live’, which would have sent him packing even in schoolboy cricket.
The following day, Curran was in the middle of another tight chase, this time against Warriorz. This one, too, went into the last over, but Curran played a much better hand, remaining unbeaten on 26 off 17 to help steer his side home.
Blessing Muzarabani, the unheralded star

While the Vipers continued to be the team to beat, the Giants were the story of the week, because of how two last-gasp wins have put them firmly back in playoff contention. A little bit of luck going against them, and they would have been sitting at just 2 points from seven games, but now they have six.
And one of the unheralded stars they have to thank has been Blessing Muzarabani. The tall Zimbabwe fast bowler has consistently been a great asset whenever he has had opportunities, and he showed his skill in this second week. He had five wickets in three games – Alzarri Joseph and Mohammad Amir had more – but his economy rate was an exceptional 6.90.
In both Giants’ wins, Muzarabani’s bowling was a standout. Against Emirates, he took 1 for 16 in four overs, despite bowling an over each in the powerplay and at the death against the league’s most powerful batting line-up.
He snared Pollard at the death to significantly dent Emirates’ eventual total. Against Warriroz, he took 3 for 32 in four overs, again bowling an over each in the powerplay and at the death.
His wickets included the two of the three top-scorers for Warriorz in Jason Roy and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Without Muzarbani’s economy and wickets, Giants might well have found both chases beyond them.
Gulbadin’s heroics

Three matches, and three victories for Dubai Capitals in the second week. It’s lifted them from the bottom of the table to the top two, and a large part was down to how Gulbadin Naib batted. He hit 78* off 51 against Vipers in a game where the next highest score in his team was 24, handing the table-toppers their only defeat so far. The Capitals were 17 for 2 and then 42 for 3 in their chase, but Naib’s muscled hitting meant they cantered over the line. He was 18 off 16 at the end of the powerplay, but then simply exploded.
He went one better against Knight Riders, going from a sedate 27 off 27 to finish on 80 off 47. The Capitals’ chase appeared to be meandering in the face of an imposing 204-target, but Gulbadin’s flurry of fours and sixes meant they got there comfortably enough at the end. In both games, what stood out was his ability to accelerate at will, seemingly by just flicking a switch.
Desert Vipers’ dominance

They were hit by the unexpected force of Gulbadin, but the Vipers struck back with a vengeance after their only defeat. First, Warriorz were shot out for 91 all out with Amir taking 4 for 24, and the duo of Fakhar Zaman and Alex Hales ransacking 95 for no loss in ten overs. The Warriorz were unfortunately on the receiving end again in the return game. This time they put up a more competitive 151 for 8, but Hales broke the back of their defence alongside Sam Curran, as they cantered to victory in just 14.5 overs.
With the business end of the tournament approaching, the Vipers have looked ominous, with key men in form and the team operating smoothly. It will take a special effort to stop them.
(This story is authored by Saurabh Somani who is a Pondicherry-based freelance cricket writer. In his spare time, he watches the game anyway.)