DUBAI: The Desert Vipers cruised to a six-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in a low-scoring contest at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.

It was a second-consecutive win for the Vipers in the DP World International League T20, with an unbeaten 42-run knock from all-rounder Sam Curran anchoring their chase. Sherfane Rutherford added some fireworks with 40 runs off only 18 balls, helping his side reach their target of 120 in 17.4 overs.

The bowlers set the tone for the Vipers early, as captain Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Amir dismantled the Giants’ batting order.

Ferguson claimed three wickets, Amir two, as the Giants were restricted to 119/9 in 20 overs. Skipper James Vince fought valiantly, scoring an unbeaten 76 off 62 balls, but lacked support as the wickets fell at regular intervals.

His side struggled after losing wickets early on. Amir trapped Adam Lyth LBW in the first over, and Lockie Ferguson removed Rehan Khan and Shimron Hetmyer soon after. By the sixth over, the Giants were reeling at just 32/3.

Wanindu Hasaranga then bowled Ollie Robinson for a duck and as Amir and Ferguson continued to dominate, the Giants limped to 50/6.

Vince provided a measure of stability, however, rotating the strike and finding late boundaries. Aayan Afzal Khan briefly offered some support, contributing 15 runs off 18 balls in a 36-run stand.

But Khan’s dismissal by Luke Wood in the 15th over dashed hopes of a competitive total. Nevertheless, Vince reached his half-century off 47 balls and added crucial runs in the final overs to give his side at least a fighting chance.

Chasing 120, the Vipers faced early setbacks when Mark Adair dismissed Fakhar Zaman and Dan Lawrence in the second over. Curran and Alex Hales then managed to steady the ship, adding 49 runs for the third wicket, before Curran let loose in the seventh over, smashing a six and a four off Daniel Worrall. Hales fell for 20 runs off 30 balls and then Azam Khan departed for just seven, leaving the Vipers on 66/4 in 12.2 overs.

But then Curran and Rutherford took control, with the latter hitting two sixes and a four in the 18th over to seal the victory. The former remained unbeaten on 42 from 43 balls, including four fours and a six.

“It is nice to be here for the start of the tournament and it is nice to win on a tricky pitch,” said Curran, who was named player of the match.

“It was almost a bit of a test match out there, trying to trust your defense. I knew they were going to go for their best seam bowlers at the top, so I had to adjust accordingly.”

Reflecting on the defeat, Vince said: “It was a tough gig batting first; there seemed to be a bit more moisture in the wicket than the last game. One-hundred-and-twenty is always going to be tough to defend. We needed a bit of luck going our way on a wicket like that. If we had held onto our chances, it could have been a bit tricky for them.”

KIEL, Germany: Borussia Dortmund’s struggles in the league continued with a 4-2 loss at Holstein Kiel on Tuesday, raising the heat on under-fire coach Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund were heavily favored against their promoted opponents, who sit second-last in the table, but were overrun as Kiel scored three goals in 22 first-half minutes.
Shuto Machino, Phil Harres and Alexander Bernhardsson found the net to have Kiel up by three at half-time.
Dortmund’s Gio Reyna and Jamie Gittens scored in the second half but the visitors could not pull off an unlikely comeback, with Jann-Fiete Arp scoring Kiel’s fourth in stoppage time.
Kiel have now won two of their last three to boost their chances of avoiding a direct relegation.
With half the season played, Dortmund sit eighth, 14 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
Questions will continue to be asked of coach Sahin, who replaced Edin Terzic in the summer, despite the latter taking Dortmund to the Champions League final in June.
With want-away forward Donyell Malen joining Aston Villa just an hour before kick-off, Sahin handed teenage forward Julien Duranville a starting XI debut.
In cold, foggy conditions on Germany’s northern coast, Dortmund dominated possession for much of the first half-hour, but were unable to break through the dogged hosts.
With 27 minutes gone, Kiel forced Julian Brandt into an error near his own penalty box, Bernhardsson then found Machino who blasted in the opener.
Harres, a fourth-division player this time last season, doubled Kiel’s lead with a clever header on the counter shortly afterwards.
Kiel hit a third just before half-time, Bernhardsson tapping in a Harres cross to have Dortmund reeling.
Sahin made four attacking changes in the opening 15 minutes of the second half as Dortmund pursued an unlikely comeback.
But despite goals by Reyna and Gittens, the visitors were unable to find a third, with local boy Arp scoring in the dying moments to seal a famous Kiel win.
Later on Tuesday, champions Bayer Leverkusen can close the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich with a victory at home against fifth-placed Mainz.