Desert Vipers’ Alex Hales and Gulf Giants’ Chris Jordan lead the elusive ILT20 ‘Belts’ race

 With only three teams remaining in the competition, the International League T20 has reached its most exciting phase. The MI Emirates set up a clash against Gulf Giants in Qualifier 2 after registering a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Dubai Capitals on Thursday. The winner of the Qualifier 2 match, which is set to be held at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, will take on Desert Vipers in the grand finale on Sunday.

However, apart from the race to the DP World ILT20 trophy, another interesting and exciting race is being run on the side. The cricketing superstars have focused on taking their team over the line, but have also kept an eye on the unique set of individual awards throughout the month-long tournament being held in the UAE. The DP World ILT20 will present the Green (top scorer), White (top wicket-taker), Red (Most Valuable Player), Blue (Most Valuable UAE Player) as well as Black (owner of the winning team) Belts at the end of the competition.

Desert Vipers’ Alex Hales has led the race to the Green Belt for the most part of the competition with 468 runs. However, Gulf Giants’ James Vince and MI Emirates’ Kieron Pollard and Muhammad Waseem are strong contenders for the top run scorer’s award with 342 runs, 337 runs and 336 runs respectively.

The battle for the White Belt has been a tight contest during the course of the season. Gulf Giants’ Chris Jordan and David Wiese are currently at the top two spots in the top wicket-taker’s table with 17 and 16 wickets respectively. However, Desert Vipers’ Wanindu Hasaranga and Sheldon Cottrell are not far behind with 14 and 12 wickets respectively.

Desert Vipers’ Alex Hales is also a strong contender for being the Most Valuable Player of the season and bag the Red Belt. Meanwhile, MI Emirates’ Muhammad Waseem is leading the Most Valuable UAE Player’s chart. The Most Valuable Players are decided based on a unique point scoring system devised by the DP World ILT20. The players are given certain number of points for their performance with bat, ball and on the field in every match.

Hales has amassed 184 points in the competition so far, however, Gulf Giants’ David Wiese, Desert Vipers’ Tom Curran and Gulf Giants’ Chris Jordan are just behind him with 181, 178.5 and 178 points respectively. Meanwhile, in the race to the Blue Belt, Waseem has notched 158.5 points, but Desert Vipers’ Rohan Mustafa is giving him a run for his money with 149 points at second place.

The Belt contenders will be itching to make their way to the top of their respective charts as the Gulf Giants take on the MI Emirates in Qualifier 2 at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday for a place in the final.

The DP World ILT20 has received an excellent reception on television as well as on digital during the month-long competition. Over 200 million fans have tuned in to the DP World ILT20 live broadcast on ZEE’s linear channels, digital platform, Zee5 as well as Zee Cinema SD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema, &Pictures HD, &Flix SD, &Flix HD, Zee Zest SD, Zee Zest HD, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Thirai. The tournament can also be seen on CricLife across the UAE and MENA regions.

Along with the fantastic cricket on display, the fans are enjoying several games, food trucks and live performances at the Playoffs festival. The exciting carnival is being held at the Dubai International Stadium from 3 pm onwards on the day of the remaining qualifier – February 10th, as well as the final – February 12th.