Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Curran receives the trophy and hoists it along with his teammates. Fireworks go off once more in the night sky as the Desert Vipers become the fourth different team to become champions of the ILT20. Four seasons of the tournament so far and four different winners. Vipers finally get their hands on the trophy after losing the final in 2023 and 2025. This is their year and it's going to be a big party as Curran said. That's all from this tournament. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. Until next time, it's goodbye!

Sam Curran | Desert Vipers captain: Really special. Was nervous coming in today. Obviously two finals and everyone thinking "imagine if we lose this one - three in a row". The team have been amazing, the management, the owners, stuff like that. Going to be a big party tonight. Of course there's nerves, I think that's a good thing. Things like you don't know how the pitch is going to play. Obviously Gous pulled up with an injury in the warmups and we got tested there. That just shows the quality of our group and the setup. Nerves were always there. MI are a fantastic team. I think we deserved the trophy in the end. Have been the strongest side throughout. Really pleased. Individual performance really doesn't matter. Today I was sort of thinking "imagine we win the trophy, will be my first as captain" which is really special. Nice to put in a performance. The way the guys batted was amazing and the whole bowling group - Naseem with a few wickets, Usman has been a great addition. Thought we fielded really well as well which we've done all season. The setup that the owners and the management have set up has a family feel. You can see all our families down there. Lot of happy faces. They let us enjoy our time off. And when we turn up to the ground, it's a professional setup. One of my favourite franchises. To give them a trophy is really special. Hopefully the first trophy of many for us. He's amazing (Khuzaima Tanveer), was really nice that he got the final wicket. Has been the standout bowler for us. His confidence from last year is huge. That's what this tournament is amazing for, giving opportunities to so many different countries and players. Hopefully next year it keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Time for the winners medals. Curran will be the last in line and he's also the Player of the Match today.

Kieron Pollard | MI Emirates captain: If I'm being honest, within the field (where did it go wrong). The way we started, I saw you guys were having fun with the bloopers on the screen. In a final like this, these are the times you need to be sharp. 15-20 runs, when you minus that from the final total, 160 is a chaseable total. Could be (nerves). Couple of guys playing for the first time (in a final). No excuses for that. This is where you want the guys to stand up but we didn't. Deservedly winners, the Vipers. I still thought 180 was chaseable, but we lost a couple of wickets early on that sort of stalled us. I was going to try and see if I can get 18-20 off Usman's final over, it didn't work out. Sam batted well. Posting 180 was always going to be challenging. From where it started to now, thought it was a fantastic tournament. The international players, the UAE players, and even guys coming through from places like Saudi and Kuwait. You saw performances, you saw confidence. Long may it continue.

MI Emirates line up for the runners-up medals.

Mohammad Waseem named the best UAE player and receives a blue belt. Sam Curran gets the red belt for being the Most Valuable player. He also gets the green belt for being the best batter, while Waqar Salamkheil is awarded the white belt for being the best bowler of the season. AM Ghazanfar wins a different prize, a bicycle, for the best catch of the tournament.

Zafar Gohar: Pretty nice, I enjoyed it, came late into the set-up and it's nice to be part of such a good squad. We've been playing here for more than 30 days, the (team) balance was pretty much there, the environment was relaxed and that works.

Bilal Tahir - Good experience, the coaching staff were excellent and I learnt a lot. It was a chilled atmosphere, shared learnings with others.

Tom Moody, Director of Cricket, Desert Vipers: It means a hell of a lot to the entire group. I think people sometimes underestimate what goes on behind the scenes. In my role as Director of Cricket, I see it firsthand. When you’ve got the CEO, Phil Oliver, and his team working months in advance, putting in late nights both before and during the tournament, it makes a massive difference. That environment and culture don’t happen overnight. You need strong structures on and off the field, and we’re very fortunate to have that. We kept it really simple. We spoke yesterday and again today about enjoying the occasion. We’ve worked hard, we’ve been successful this season, but we’ve also had a lot of laughter and enjoyment along the way. It was about repeating that. There were some star individual performances tonight, but what stood out most was the collective effort. Yes, without question. Reaching finals is great, but you’re in the tournament to win it. This means a huge amount to everyone connected to the group.

James Foster, Head Coach: It feels a bit better, if I’m being brutally honest. It’s been an incredible journey — four years, actually — and it’s been brilliant. To get over the line today was exceptional. The character the guys showed was outstanding. We’ve had challenges along the way — injuries, losing a few bodies — but they handled it so well. We’ve been brilliantly led by Lockie Ferguson, who unfortunately isn’t here tonight, and also by Sam Curran — two outstanding leaders. And it’s not just the captains. The leadership throughout the group, the way they marshalled themselves out in the middle, was nothing short of superb.

Sanjay Pahal: This is my first season, to share the dressing room with top players across the cricketing world was my pleasure. I was just told to back myself and the team management was very helpful. I have a lot of friends in the team - I'm from Haryana, India and who doesn't love tea.

Naseem Shah: Thankful to Allah, the pressure of a final is different. The credit goes to everyone, batting and bowling. Our combination was good, had good options with both bat and ball, the team management used them well. Everyone gave their 100% and the end result is in front of us

Tom Bruce: it’s been great. It’s far exceeded all expectations. It’s been a fantastic tournament with some great players, and for the boys to be able to pull it off on the big day is really special. Yeah, he really has. He’s a big-game player and always steps up on the big stage (on Sam Curran). Obviously, it was tough to lose Lockie Ferguson — hopefully he’s watching at home fist-pumping. But Sam has been outstanding all tournament: bat, ball, field, and his leadership has been top-class.

Jason Roy: Yeah, pretty ecstatic, to be honest. Popping myself in for a few games and winning a trophy with a great group of people is incredibly special. It’s just a great group of people — from the backroom staff to management, the players, and everyone in the office who makes things work.
They do things really well for both overseas and local players. It creates a great environment to go out there and perform. I’m really happy for the whole group — they’ve worked incredibly hard to get here, and getting over that final hurdle feels really special.

Qais Ahmed: First of all, thanks to Allah for giving us this victory. When a team works together and wants to win, special things happen. I’m very grateful to be part of this group — all of us contributed, and Alhamdulillah, we’re champions. I feel very lucky. There are a lot of prayers behind us — from family, supporters, everyone. I truly believe those prayers have had an impact, and that’s why we’ve been able to win.

Usman Tariq: I’m really glad we finally won, and that everyone put in the effort as a team. I just tried to bowl my best deliveries, and the support around me was really good. The pitch was quite friendly, which helped a lot, so I’m just happy we were able to take wickets and win tonight. it’s about picking the right moments. Taking wickets at the right time gives you confidence, and it gives the team belief as well. I’m really grateful for the opportunity. I came in knowing these were pressure games, but I always prepare myself for situations like this. My process really helps me perform on big stages, where people expect you to deliver.

22:32 Local Time, 18:32 GMT, 00:02 IST: Third time lucky for the Vipers who had lost their last two finals. Have been the most consistent team in the ILT20 since its inception and they finally will lay their hands on the trophy after dominating the season from start to finish. They topped the league table with 8 wins in 10 matches, then outplayed MI Emirates in the first Qualifier and they've outplayed them once again today in the final. Sam Curran, the captain, led the way with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 74 in a total of 182. Once they got there, it was always going to be an uphill battle for MI Emirates as it was the second highest total at this venue this season. To make matters worse for them they had to deal with the Pakistani duo of Naseem and Tariq who were brilliant. Together their eight overs went for just 38 and they picked up five wickets combined. Plenty of interviews coming up, stay tuned...

Khuzaima Tanveer to Muhammad Rohid Khan, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!