Alex Hales (62/44) and Sherfan Rutherford (56/29)’s half-century surpassed Kieron Pollard’s (67*/39) one.
Vipers chased 170 on a good course in Abu Dhabi and finished with 3.3 overs to go.
Hales first added 72 runs for the second wicket against Colin Munro and then 94* runs for the fourth wicket against Rutherford after Vipers Rohan Mustafa lost early to Trent Vault. Did. In the process, Hales scored five consecutive fifties and over 400 runs in the tournament.
Hales hit six fours and two sixes, but Rutherford hit four fours and three sixes, going shot after shot with him winning the Player of the Match award. The 24-year-old entered the circle after two goals from Summit Patel that saw Munro and Sam Billings sent off within four balls. But Rutherford came out and tonked the fifth and sixth balls he faced to score a six. And from there there was no turning back to the Emirates.
The Emirates’ 169 is thanks to Pollard’s blitz early in the night when the veteran smashed his 4 and 6 of 6. The Emirates lost two wickets for just 10 on the board and it was Nicolas Pooran who provided a steady touch for 50 (57/49), but Pollard actually provided the final push and took the target away. He made it 170. Pollard and Poulin shared a streak of 116 runs, with Pollard hitting the hardest. Fifty runs were added in the final four overs, but the Emirates dropped some runs and came back when they met Hales in furious form.
Brief Scores: MI Emirates 169/5 (Pollard 67*; Tom Curran 2-38) lost to Desert Vipers 170/3 in 16.3 overs (Hales 62*, Rutherford 56*; Samit 2-23) by 7 wickets