Third time’s a charm! Sam Curran leads Desert Vipers to maiden ILT20 title | Cricket News

Dubai:

Third time’s a charm. Third time lucky.

These are two popular sayings in the English language.

It seems as though the initial two attempts served as obstacles; they served as stepping stones towards an inevitable outcome. For the Desert Vipers, that was the ILT20 title on Sunday at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.

Desert Vipers defeated MI Emirates (MIE) by 46 runs in a one-sided final in Dubai. They had been here, under the Ring of Fire, twice and had tasted defeat both times.

This time, it felt different. Desert Vipers were a cut above the rest all season. The Vipers scarcely put a foot wrong, losing just two of their ten matches.

asserted their dominance over MI Emirates twice in the knockouts, cruising to a 45-run win in Qualifier 1 before outclassing them yet again in the final.

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! When they met MIE once again in the final,

They were contesting against not just a team that has triumphed in every T20 league across the world; they were facing a side that was led by a perennial champion in the form of Kieron Pollard.

The early signs were that things would go away from the Vipers’ grasp again.

The Desert Vipers team celebrates after winning the title (ILT20).

The toss went out in favour of MI Emirates, and they chose to field on a surface that has seen the team batting second triumph more often than first. Andries Gous,

The wicketkeeper-batter was out with a calf injury after scoring an unbeaten 120 against MIE in the qualifier. Teams had on average scored 154.66 runs when batting first at this venue this season.

Dubai Capitals had produced the biggest total—186—against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and gone on to win by 83 runs.

Clearly, ‘score big and put things beyond MIE’ would have been the mantra for the Sam Curran-led Desert Vipers.

Sam Curran of Desert Vipers raises his bat after scoring a fifty during the final of the DP World International League T20 between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 4 January 2026. (ILT20)

Three boundaries in four balls during the third over demonstrated the intent of Fakhar Zaman and Jason Roy.

However, a few balls later, both players were dismissed within the span of four balls by Fazalhaq Farooqi, which brought Sam Curran of England to the crease.

Curran, who had seen the team fall short last season, had picked up the leadership duties from Lockie Ferguson.

Pollard spoke about Curran’s leadership.

Pollard spoke about Curran’s leadership in the chat before the final. “I was reading somewhere about Sam’s leadership and that he is unbeaten as captain.”

Pollard said. “Everything is leaning in his favour, which is a good thing – not just for Sam, but for future reference.”

Sam Curran takes a shot in the final. (ILT20)

Individually, Curran had been a top performer for his side. Having scored 323 runs from 11 matches,

He needed to deliver in this pressure moment, with two wickets falling in quick succession.

He took his time to get going. He failed to make an impact in the first five balls. And once he did, he blazed four consecutive boundaries. And then there was another lull.

He went 13 balls without hitting a boundary, including six dot balls. Then came another four. In the next spell of 21 balls,

He hit three further boundaries. Evidently, the goal was to wait out the low-scoring track. Romario Shepherd’s errant deliveries – one full and wide,

Desert Vipers players celebrate the wicket of Tom Banton of MI Emirates during the final of the DP World International League T20 between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 4 January 2026. (ILT20)

When he got the ball, Curran was smashed for 24 runs in two overs, but his teammates had done the job for him.

David Payne took 3 for 42, Naseem Shah picked up 3 for 18 and Usman Tariq’s tricky bowling action and variety earned him 2 for 20.

Maybe this third time is lucky; ‘third time’s the charm’ was meant to be. MIE were chasing the night for a sixth match in a row and had won four times. Vipers accounted for both of MIE’s two defeats during this run.

Curran, deservedly, will take in the applause. As the last wicket fell, he raised his hands and clapped multiple times before embracing his team as the Player of the Match and winner of the Green Belt and Red Belt for the second year running. Brief Scores Desert Vipers: 182 for 4 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 74 not out, Jason Holder 41; Fazallaq Farooqi 2/33) MI Emirates: 136 all out in 18.3 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 36; Naseem Shah 3/18, David Payne 3/42)