ADKR and Dubai Capitals colts secure wins

The third edition of the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament got off to an exciting start on Sunday at the ICC Academy, Dubai. In a series of high-octane encounters, victories were claimed by Desert Vipers Development, Dubai Capitals Development, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) Development, and Gulf Giants Development, setting a high standard for the tournament’s early stages.

In another thrilling encounter, on Monday evening, Dubai Capitals Development secured their first triumph of the campaign with a five-run victory of Gulf Giants Development. Mohammed Irfan (68 off 34) scored his second consecutive fifty in no time while Sohaib Khan (35 off 24) also chipped in but Zahid Ali (4/18) and Ajay Kumar (3/29) ensured the Capitals would be bundled up for 163. In reply, Jonathan Figy (67 off 46) was unable to repeat his match-winning exploits from his previous outing. He waged a lone battle while wickets tumbled around him. Abdulrahman Nasir Riaz (3/18), Muhammad Irfan (2/15) and Zeeshan Naseer (2/35) led a comprehensive performance to keep the Giants at bay.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) Development defeated Sharjah Warriorz Development by four wickets in an early evening clash on Monday. Lethal spells from Sanchit Sharma (2/38) and Usaid Amin (3/26) ripped through the Warriorz top order to restrict them to 169/7. Though a series of batters had promising starts neither could leverage them for a big inning and Mohit Kalyan (34 off 22) emerged as the top scorer.

In the second innings, Haider Razzaq (3/36) picked up three wickets in the powerplay to push the Knight Riders on the back foot. Ali Abid (80* off 44) however, was in fine fettle. Abid carved five fours and six sixes with support from the middle and lower order to script the finish with three balls and four wickets to spare.

Sunday’s evening fixture came down to the wire as Gulf Giants Development defeated MI Emirates by two wickets. Vriitya Aravind (36 off 19) and Aryan Saxena’s (65 off 48) half-century gave the MI Emirates a strong start before Vishnu Sukumaran’s (51 off 23) late blitz that included six fours, and three sixes powered them to 192/6. Meanwhile, Mohd. Uzair Khan and Aayan Khan were the pick of the Giants bowling attack with frugal figures of 2/26 and 1/20 respectively.

In reply, opener Jonathan Figy (60* off 51) anchored the chase with a measured fifty while Hameed Khan (29 off 9) provided an explosive start to support him. However, it was Muhammad Aftab Alam (72 off 34) who did the heavy lifting and titled the contest in favour of the Giants. The number four batter struck five fours and five sixes until he became part of Faraaz Uddin’s four-wicket haul. With 27 runs needed in the final four overs, the Giants eventually breached the target with a boundary in the last ball of the innings.

Earlier in the day the season opener of the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament 2025 saw a thrilling last ball finish as Desert Vipers Development edged past Dubai Capital Development by one wicket. Batting first, the Capitals posted a mammoth total of 210/6.