Watch: Gulf Giants wicketkeeper Gerhard Erasmus takes one-handed stunning catch against MI Emirates in ILT20

The Gulf Giants beat MI Emirates in the Qualifier 2 of the International League T20 (ILT20) 2023 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Friday, February 10. With that win, they have booked their place in the final and will meet Desert Vipers in the summit clash of the inaugural edition of the ILT20 on Sunday.

The Giants captain James Vince won the toss and opted to field first in the qualifier 2 encounter. Batting first, MI Emirates made a poor start but skipper Kieron Pollard (57* off 35) slammed a half-century, including 4 sixes and 3 boundaries and helped his side to register a decent score on the board.

Nicholas Pooran (29) and Waseem Muhammad (31 off 26) also played decent knocks as Giants post 167/5 in the allotted overs. However, a superb run chase from the Gulf Giants saw them winning the game easily with 11 balls to spare.

Chasing 168, Vince scored an unbeaten 83 runs from 56 balls and powered his side to a 4-wicket victory. Vince and Lynn got off to a good start but Lynn departed on the last ball of the powerplay.

The Gulf Giants added wicketkeeper Gerhard Erasmus in their playing XI against MI Emirates. In the 10th over, he pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Dan Mousley (7) off David Wiese’s delivery.

Watch Gerhard Erasmus’ stunning one-handed catch:

“Got off to a quick start which took the pressure off. We lost a few wickets through the middle but the guys who came in didn’t chew up too many balls and found the boundaries. [Bowlers] Been fantastic all tournament, as Polly said they were 15 short. If we’d fielded better we could have kept them to 10 fewer. But we adapted well today. Good response [to losing first qualifier], we get a chance to put it right against the Vipers on Sunday,” said Gulf Giants captain James Vince in a post-match presentation.

MI Emirates captain Kieron Pollard said after the match, “We didn’t get off to the greatest start. They bowled well and kept us in check. We finished with a decent total but were 15-20 runs short. We could have been tighter with the ball, get early wickets and get into them. They started well and we were always playing catch-up. Things went their way, so congratulations to them, but we lost that game. [ILT20 impressions] The best in the world come together and you get opportunities to showcase your talent. Long may that continue.”