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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86 nations, two int'l organisations sign AI Impact Summit declaration: IT Min Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 86 countries and two international organisations have signed the AI Impact Summit declaration, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said, adding that the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, and Germany are among the signatories.
The strong global backing for the declaration comes at the conclusion of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
Vaishnaw told reporters that nations across the world have formalised and upheld principles of 'welfare of all, and happiness of all'.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's human-centric AI vision been accepted by the world. Democratising Artificial Intelligence resources so AI facilities, services and technology can reach everyone in society has been accepted by all," the minister said.
Balancing economic growth with social good has been prioritised, he added.
"Not just economic growth, even social harmony has to be kept in mind. Safety and trust are at the centre, they have been brought among the main points," Vaishnaw said, adding that a secure, trustworthy and robust AI framework has been focused on.
Other major areas of thrust include innovations and development of human capital, he noted.
"For all these areas, all countries have agreed to work together. Almost all countries that participated, including the US, the UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, and Germany... everyone has participated," the minister said.
The mega AI Impact Summit secured investment commitments of over USD 250 billion in infrastructure alone, with Vaishnaw on Friday terming it a "grand success".
Vaishnaw had said participation at the summit crossed five lakh visitors, reflecting strong domestic and global engagement with India's AI push.
The India AI Impact Summit brought together global policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, positioning India as a key player in shaping international AI governance and infrastructure development.
"More than five lakh visitors participated in the exhibition, learnt a lot, and interacted with many experts from around the world. We had practically every major AI player in the world participating in large numbers. We had so many startups getting the opportunity to showcase their work. Overall, the quality of the discussion was phenomenal," he had said.
Be it the ministerial dialogue, the leaders' plenary, the main inauguration function, or the Summit overall, the quality of participation and dialogue was phenomenal, Vaishnaw had pointed out.
The investment pledges have crossed USD 250 billion for infra-related capital and around USD 20 billion on VC/deep tech investments.
Vaishnaw had said that the Summit reflected the world's confidence in India's role in the new AI age.
Delhi played host to a lineup of global tech heavyweights this week - Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith and Anthropic's Dario Amodei - as discussions spanned most intensely debated global topics in the tech universe, from AI's opportunities and risks, all the way to AGI, governance and the future of jobs.
