Desert Vipers win maiden ILT20 title after 46-run victory over MI Emirates
Dubai (PTI): Skipper Sam Curran smashed an unbeaten fifty to help Desert Vipers clinch their maiden ILT20 title with a 46-run victory over MI Emirates here.
The Desert Vipers took home a cash prize of USD 700,000 along with the Black Belt, while MI Emirates were awarded USD 300,000.
Curran smashed an unbeaten 74 off 51 balls, studded with eight fours and two sixes, to power his team to an unassailable 182/4. He was well supported by Max Holden (41 off 32) and Dan Lawrence’s (23 off 15) late charge.
Naseem Shah (3/18), Usman Tariq (2/20), and Khuzaima Tanveer (2/22) led the bowling effort before David Payne’s three-wicket haul (3/42) restricted MI Emirates to 136.
The Vipers' skipper Curran capped off an impressive tournament by finishing with both the Red Belt (Most Valuable Player) and the Green Belt (Best Batter).
Curran ended the season with 397 runs, including three half-centuries, and complemented his batting efforts with seven wickets and 10 catches.
In the second innings, Naseem set the tone early, removing Andre Fletcher (10 off 11) and Tom Banton (7 off 6). MI Emirates lost three wickets inside six overs and crawled to 46/3.
Usman Tariq turned up the heat by dismissing Sanjay Krishnamurthi (2 off 9) in the eighth over. Shakib Al Hasan (36 off 27) attempted to steady the innings with calculated strikes, but boundaries were hard to come by.
With Kieron Pollard struggling to break free, MI Emirates reached 72/4 after 10 overs, falling further behind in the chase.
After Naseem removed Pollard to end any late resistance, David Payne ripped through the lower order, bagging three wickets in the 18th over.
Khuzaima Tanveer sealed the title by clattering Muhammad Rohid’s stumps (3 off 4) as the Vipers closed out the match with nine balls to spare.
The White Belt (Best Bowler) was claimed by Dubai Capitals’ Waqar Salamkheil, who led the bowling charts with 18 wickets.
Meanwhile, MI Emirates’ Muhammad Waseem picked up the Blue Belt for Best UAE Player for the fourth straight campaign after scoring 370 runs across Season 4. The winners of the DP World ILT20 signature belts were awarded USD 15,000 each.
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No nation can progress unless small traders are protected: Arvind Kejriwal
Chandigarh (PTI): No nation can progress unless small shopkeepers and traders are protected and given ease of doing business, Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday.
Kejriwal made the remarks while addressing the maiden meeting of the Punjab State Traders Commission in Mohali, where he was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The former Delhi chief minister said that through the commission, local markets will be upgraded, and long-pending small issues of shopkeepers will be resolved.
He said the purpose of the commission is to make the tax system simpler, more transparent, and trader-friendly.
"Till now, in our country, traders and businessmen have been viewed with a very negative mindset. No matter which government or which party ruled, everyone treated traders as thieves," Kejriwal said.
"I pray that one day our government is formed at the Centre and we free you from GST. There is a kind of tax terrorism going on," he said.
Kejriwal termed the traders also a victim of politicians, who, he said, only remember them during elections and then, once in power, to extort money till the next election.
"I come from a trading family. I understand the pain and suffering of a trader. You may remember how, as children, we used to go to the village during summer holidays. My uncle there had a grocery shop at the bus stand. During summer vacations, many times I would manage the entire shop alone for days. I understand the pain of a shopkeeper," he said.
The AAP leader said the governments always talk about big investments everywhere. "But no one ever paid attention to the small shopkeeper running a grocery store, a clothing shop, a bread shop, a tile shop, or shops in small markets."
Attacking the rival parties in Punjab, he said that after their run was over, neither the Akali Dal nor the Congress would have dared to go among the public and seek honest feedback.
"After four years, they would face such abuse that I do not think the Congress government would have had the courage to pass around a microphone in a public gathering and say, speak whatever you want … If it had happened during the Akali Dal government, the microphone would not have returned," he said.
