MI Emirates thrash Desert Vipers to close in on first place

Muhammad Waseem, Kieron Pollard and Andre Fletcher were all among the runs as MI Emirates beat Desert Vipers by 157 runs

Sharjah: MI Emirates 241-3, Desert Vipers 84 - MI Emirates won by 157 runs

Scorecard

MI Emirates thrashed Desert Vipers by 157 runs to close in on first place.

Kieron Pollard's side, who sit third in the table, are now just one point behind Gulf Giants and Desert Vipers with three games remaining.

Batting first, MI Emirates showcased their dominance from the beginning. Local star Muhammad Waseem (86 runs off 44 balls) and Andre Fletcher (50 runs off 39 balls) formed an electric opening partnership, putting on 141 runs off 75 balls.

Three wickets in quick succession created some minor panic in the Emirates camp before Pollard used all of experience to cash in at the death.

^{Kieron Pollard scored a half-century off just 19 balls (Getty Images)}

He and Dan Mousley smashed 88 runs off the final five overs, finishing unbeaten on 50 (19) and 31 (17), respectively, as MI Emirates closed on 241 for 3.

Luke Wood, who has spent the past few months competing in the Big Bash with Melbourne Stars, was the only Vipers bowler to concede fewer than 10 runs per over, returning figures of 0 for 28.

Chasing a stiff target of 242, Desert Vipers were never in the game. They lost their prime batter, Alex Hales, and Rohan Mustafa, inside 2.1 overs and never recovered from there.

Fazalhaq Farooqi ripped through the top and middle order on his way to figures of 3 for 13 whiel local pacer Zahoor Khan collected two wicekts as the Vipers were reduced to 47 for 6 at the end of the powerplay.

Tom Curran and Mark Watt offered a little bit of resistance late on, scoring 12 runs apiece, but it was too little, too late as the Vipers slumped to 84 all out.

Imran Tahir, Trent Boult, Dwayne Bravo and Mousley also collected wickets.