Serial winners MI stand between well-rested Vipers and a maiden ILT20 title
An MI franchise - men or women - has never lost a T20 final since 2010, when CSK toppled Mumbai Indians in the IPL
Deivarayan Muthu
03-Jan-2026
Sam Curran and Kieron Pollard with the ILT20 trophy • CREIMAS/ILT20
Big Picture: Pollard and Sam Curran to the fore
Desert Vipers and MI Emirates. The top two teams in this ILT20 season will meet again in the final in Dubai on Sunday. Vipers have had a chance to put their feet up for four days after overpowering MI Emirates in Qualifier 1 in Abu Dhabi on December 30. In the meantime, MI Emirates travelled to Sharjah and KO'd Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on January 2 to set up a rematch with Vipers.
In the lead-up to knockouts 1, MI Emirates captain Kieron Pollard suggested that a five-match winning streak left the team on a "dangerous territory," fearing it might work against them. After the defeat to Vipers, they however regrouped and bossed ADKR in Qualifier 2, with Pollard showing the way with his leadership.
He had two spinners opening the bowling and empowered Afghanistan mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar to attack batters by placing himself at slip, short leg or silly point. Arab Gul, the other Afghanistan mystery spinner, went wicketless, but was difficult to put away. Pollard also brought in UAE left-arm seamer Muhammad Rohid into the attack ahead of the more experienced Fazalhaq Farooqi, and the local boy responded with a first-ball wicket.
At 38, Pollard continues to be an explosive hitter - only Rahmanullah Gurbaz (20) has struck more sixes than Pollard's 15 this season. Nicholas Pooran has left the ILT20 to play for MI Cape Town in the SA20, but Pollard has worked his magic for MI Emirates.
Likewise for Vipers, Sam Curran has led the way. Their regular captain Lockie Ferguson missed most of the tournament with injury - he has now been ruled out of the Big Bash League too - but Curran has torched their campaign with his all-round performances.
He is the second-highest run-getter this season and has been excellent with the ball in the powerplay along with Pakistan-born quick Khuzaima Tanveer. When Curran came up against MI Emirates in Qualifier 1, he clattered an unbeaten 38 off 12 balls at No.3. Though he has been expensive in the end overs, his reinvention as a batter bodes well for Vipers and perhaps for Rajasthan Royals too in IPL 2026.
Last August, Curran and Tom Moody, Vipers' director of cricket, won the Hundred together at Oval Invincibles. Can they lead Vipers to their maiden ILT20 title? Or will Pollard deny them and inspire MI Emirates to their second title?
Form Guide
Desert Vipers: WWLWL (last five matches, most recent first)
MI Emirates: WLWWW
MI Emirates: WLWWW
In the spotlight: Gous and MIE's mystery spinners
After suffering a calf an injury during a league fixture against MI Emirates in Abu Dhabi, USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous completed his rehab and returned in grand style against the same opposition at the same venue with an unbeaten 120 off 58 balls - the highest individual score in the ILT20, in front of his family. Vipers will be hoping for an encore from Gous before he links up with the USA side for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Rashid Khan has left the ILT20 to captain MI Cape Town in the SA20, but his junior Afghanistan colleagues AM Ghazanfar and Arab Gul have befuddled batters with their variations in the UAE. While Ghazanfar has excelled in the powerplay with his carrom ball and swinging arm ball, Gul has taken care of the middle overs by darting the ball into the pitch and getting it to skid off it. On Friday, Gul bowled five balls to Andre Russell, with all five being dots. Beware of the Afghanistan mystery spinners, Vipers.
Team news
There's no reason for the well-rested Vipers to make any changes unless there are any injury concerns or illness.
Desert Vipers (probable): 1 Andries Gous (wk), 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Max Holden, 4 Sam Curran, 5 Jason Roy, 6 Dan Lawrence, 7 Hasan Nawaz, 8 Sanjay Pahal, 9 David Payne, 10 Usman Tariq, 11 Khuzaima Tanveer, 12 Naseem Shah
If Dubai dishes out a used surface, MI Emirates may consider bringing Dan Mousely back into their XI or XII. At the pre-final press conference, Pollard said that Rohid was a last-minute inclusion for Qualifier 2 after Zahoor Khan had pulled up sore. Rohid seems to have done enough to retain his spot for the final.
MI Emirates (probable): 1 Muhammad Waseem, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Tom Banton (wk), 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Sanjay Krishnamurthi, 6 Dan Mousley/Tajinder Singh, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Kieron Pollard (capt), 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Arab Gul, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 12 Muhammad Rohid
Pitch and conditions
It remains to be seen if Dubai offers a fresh pitch for the final. A used pitch may skew the conditions in favour of spinners. Dew is usually a factor in night games in Dubai.
Stats and trivia
- An MI franchise - men or women - has never lost a T20 final since 2010, when Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in the IPL
- Shakib Al Hassan bagged his 45th Player-of-the-Match award in T20s on Friday. Only his MI Emirates captain Pollard (48), Glenn Maxwell (48) and Chris Gayle (60) have more Player-of-the-Match awards in T20s.
- Vipers' Tanveer (15) and ADKR's Ajay Kumar (18) are the only UAE bowlers among the top-ten wicket-takers this season.
Quotes
"We lost Lockie Ferguson as captain. Big blow for us and I filled in his shoes. I like to see myself as someone for the big moments and tomorrow will be a really good encounter in front of a fantastic crowd."
Desert Vipers captain Sam Curran
Desert Vipers captain Sam Curran
"The inspiration we can take is we have done it before [won the ILT20 title]. We understand what needs to happen in finals cricket."
MI Emirates captain Kieron Pollard
MI Emirates captain Kieron Pollard
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo