AI Simulation, GAW vs DC | Tahir-Moeen weave web around Capitals to hand Warriors comfortable win

Pitch and Weather

The Providence Stadium in Guyana once again produced a slow surface with plenty of grip for the spinners, albeit some dew in the second innings made life a bit easier for batters. There was no threat of rain throughout the evening, despite the occasional cloud cover.

Toss

Dubai Capitals won the toss and decided to bowl first, keeping the dew factor in mind.

Lineups

GAW XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Johnson Charles, Moeen Ali, Jewel Andrew, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Dwaine Pretorius, David Wiese, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Springer, Imran Tahir (c)

DC XI: Sediqullah Atal, Rohan Mustafa, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Gulabdin Naib (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Kadeem Alleyne, Jesse Bootan, Dominic Drakes, Aryaman Varma, Qais Ahmad

Match Report

Asked to bat first, Guyana got off to a sluggish start with both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Johnson Charles scraping by against the swinging new ball. The spell eventually culminated in the latter departing for a 13-ball 11 but some expansive shots late in the powerplay from Gurbaz and Moeen Ali meant the team managed to accumulate 46 in the first six overs. The duo continue to push even once the field spread, targetting the Gualbdin Naib and Aryaman Varma to amp up the scoring rates. By the time the Capitals broke the 71-run stand, the stage was set for Shimron Hetmyer to display some fireworks The Caribbean big-hitte patiently cruised through a period of quiet induced by Shakib Al Hasan and Qais Ahmad once they scalped Gurbaz, before teeing off at the death with three boundaries and as many maximums ina  24-ball cameo for 38. Dwaine Pretorius added to the cause with a quick 16 off eight, taking the Warriors to a tournament high 178/7.

In repsonse, neither Sediqullah Atal nor Rohan Mustafa managed to survive the fielding restrictions phase, both falling victim to Dwaine Pretorius for seven and 23 respectively. Niroshan Dickwella and skipper Naib orchestrated a recovery thereafter with a 63-run partnership to stem the flow of wickets, but the scoring rate remained subpar. Imran Tahir capitalized on the circumstances by luring both batsmen into going big and having them caught on the boundary, thus leaving the equation reading 76 runs off the final nine overs. The likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Kadeem Alleyne contributed a couple big blows each to keep the team in the hunt but neither managed to survive more than 10 balls before falling victim to Moeen Ali. The Capitals had thus ran out of firepower, and the match eventually dragged along to a comfortable 17-run victory for the hosts.

Player of the Match

Moeen Ali took home the Man of the Match honours for contributing with both bat and ball. The English all-rounder struck a 32-ball 40 with the bat to push the GAW to a competitive total before two wickets for 28 runs effectively strangled the Capitals batting lineup.

Scorecard