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DUBAI: A late blitz by Dasun Shanaka was instrumental in helping the Dubai Capitals register a comprehensive win over the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday evening.

The Dubai Capitals won by five wickets and eight deliveries to spare as Shanaka threw the kitchen sink at the Gulf Giants. 

Asked to bat first, the Gulf Giants’ skipper James Vince looked to attack from the get-go. At the other end though, Obed McCoy gave the Dubai Capitals their first wicket, as he dismissed Ibrahim Zadran for three. Vince, who hit four boundaries in his 24, was joined by Jordan Cox and kept the scoreboard moving for the Gulf Giants.

Just before the end of the powerplay, Vince was dismissed, and early in the seventh over Tom Alsop was knocked over for two by Zahir Khan. Then Cox took charge and had good support from Gerhard Erasmus.

Even though the Dubai Capitals kept things tight, Cox and Erasmus put on a 69-run stand to give the Giants some momentum in the final phase of the innings. Erasmus though departed for 29, and shortly after Cox completed his half-century, with the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer for company.

Hetmyer and Cox were looking to score quickly, but the Dubai Capitals’ bowling kept them firmly in check. In the final over of the innings, Cox was run out for a well-made 70, which helped the Gulf Giants post a competitive 153/5 in 20 overs. Hetmyer remained unbeaten on 17.

In response, Ben Dunk and Shai Hope started off steadily, and were looking to set up the platform for the Dubai Capitals’ chase. Dunk though fell for 10, and Khalid Shah could only add 10 more to the cause.

Gulbadin Naib then joined Hope and the duo found the gaps well, picking up a series of boundaries as the Dubai Capitals fought back. Naib was the next to depart for 17 as Aayan Khan picked up his second wicket. Najibullah Zadran, however, was back in the hut for seven, which brought captain Sikandar Raza to the middle, alongside Hope.

Raza and Hope put on 33 runs together, which steadied the ship. The Dubai Capitals needed a strong partnership, and Hope along with Raza were able to set up the platform for the final overs. Hope was packed off for 47 by Blessing Muzarabani, who then went on to concede 18 runs in the over.

Shanaka continued his attack on the Gulf Giants’ bowling right through and finished off the contest with two sixes, a boundary and a single in the 19th over. Shanaka finished unbeaten on 34 off 10 deliveries while Raza had 26 from 15.

Player of the match Hope said: “I am just trying to grow and for that I have got to adapt quickly and improve my game. And I got to continue doing it. I want to improve every time I get on to the field.”

The Gulf Giants’ captain Vince added: “Shanaka was able to strike it cleanly and he took it away from us in the last three overs. It was a much better performance from us overall and we felt it was a decent score.”

Brief scores

Dubai Capitals beat Gulf Giants by 5 wickets

Gulf Giants 153/5 in 20 overs (Jordan Cox 70, Gerhard Erasmus 29, Dushmantha Chameera 1 for 31, Zahir Khan 1 for 32) 

Dubai Capitals 154/5 in 18.4 overs (Shai Hope 47, Dasun Shanaka 34 not out, Sikandar Raza 27 not out, Aayan Khan 2 for 23, Muhammad Zuhaib 1 for 22)

Player of the match: Shai Hope

MELBOURNE: An injured Novak Djokovic quit after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked off toward the locker room, and he responded by giving two thumbs-up.
Djokovic, who was bidding for an 11 championship at the Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam title overall, hurt his left leg during his quarterfinal victory against Carlos Alcaraz.
The No. 2-seeded Zverev reached his first title match at Melbourne Park and will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy, the defending champion, and No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States.
Zverev is a two-time runner-up at other major tournaments.
The men’s final is Sunday. In Saturday’s women’s final, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will try to become the first woman since 1999 with three consecutive Australian Open titles when she faces Madison Keys of the United States.