Nissanka, Vince continue Gulf Giants' unbeaten start

Pathum Nissanka continued his good form in the ILT20 with 67 off 31 balls, to give the Gulf Giants their second win in as many games in the competition as they beat the Dubai Capitals. James Vince anchored the innings with a composed 45-ball 50* as the Giants chased down the target of 161 with four wickets to spare.
With the Capitals having been put in to bat, they began with a boundary in each over but Azmatullah Omarzai got Shayan Jahangir to chop one back onto his stumps. After four quiet overs, David Willey and Sediqullah Atal slammed a six each off the Afghan fast-bowler to bring some oomph into the innings. The duo put on a 61-run stand in seven overs before Atal miscued a pull off Moeen Ali to deep mid-wicket.
The wicket ensured Moeen and Liam Dawson could fire in a couple of quiet overs before the latter picked up the set David Willey. Ayaan Khan scalped Gulbadin Naib in the next over as the Capitals fell to 93/4 in 14 overs. Jordan Cox slammed two sixes and two fours in a quick 17-ball 31 and found success against fellow Englishman Moeen to get the Capitals' innings moving. But the brakes were once again applied, when Cox and Rovman Powell fell to Omarzai in the 18th over.
Looking for a strong finish, Dasun Shanaka pulled Omarzai over fine-leg for four before smashing two sixes on the offside, in an 18-run final over, to take the Capitals to 160 for 6 in their allotted overs.
In reply, Rahmanullah Gurbaz survived a review in the first over and then slammed David Willey over mid-wicket for six before falling to a stunning catch by Cox. Nissanka, who had scored 81 in his last game, took a liking to Mustafizur Rahman with a boundary down-the-ground and a six over mid-wicket to get his innings moving.
The Sri Lankan then smashed James Neesham for 22 runs in the fifth over flat-batting two sixes and a four along with a maximum down the ground. Vince hit two boundaries off Mustafizur as they raced to 60 for 1 at the end of the PowerPlay. He was also dropped by Willey as the Capitals began to look poor on the field.
Nissanka hit consecutive boundaries in the 10th over to bring up his 50 of just 23 balls. He then slammed Waqar Salamkheil for two fours and a six in a 15-run 11th over as the Giants continued to cruise to victory. He was finally dismissed by Mustafizur after failing to hit one over Cox's head at long-on.
Towards the end, there was a flurry of wickets but Vince stood firm at the other end bringing up his 11th fifty of the competition and taking his team home.