MI Emirates 208 for 3 (Pooran 57*, Fletcher 53, Zahir, 1-21) beat Dubai Capitals 163 for 7 (Billings 40, Banton 35, Boult 2-20, Viyaskanth 2-24) by 45 runs
Earlier, Billings went against the conventional wisdom of putting up runs on the board in a big game, and Waseem and Perera soon made him rethink his decision. The two muscled Emirates past 50 in just 3.3 overs. By the end of the powerplay, Waseem had scored 43 on his own.
However, Capitals managed to put the brakes on the scoring rate. When Perera tried to break free, he ended up losing his wicket to Raza.
Fletcher had looked clueless against Zahir and Raza, and was on 28 off 27 at one point. He finally picked up the pace in the 16th over, hitting Scott Kuggeleijn for two sixes and a four and bringing up his fifty off 35 balls.
Fletcher departed in the next over, but then Pooran stepped up and took the Emirates past 200. Along the way, he belted two fours and six sixes.
A few overs later, Viyaskanth dismissed Raza as well to dent Capitals further. By the end of the 13th over, the asking rate had crossed 15. In an attempt to catch up, Billings gave charge to Waqar Salamkheil but failed to connect a googly and was stumped.
