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From excitement to hope to belief to disappointment, the last few hours have been a rollercoaster, but what remains at the end of it all is our pride in this team. The MI Emirates gave it their all, fought with all their might, but fell just short of the final hurdle.&nbsp;“It was pretty good. We started off not so well, but in the last five games we turned it up. We lost in one of the playoffs and then the best game we played was in the second Qualifier. But over here, unfortunately we fielded really badly at the start of the game, which cost us around 25 runs. The par score here was about 175. The wicket was very good. I think it was probably the best wicket we played on in Dubai… There is no excuse here. We lost, we lost. We lost to a better team today,” said Head Coach, Robin Singh.&nbsp;It caps off what has been a month of breakneck cricket in the desert. From a up and down start to the season to getting on a roll, it’s been one that the MIE fam will cherish. Winning games from the jaws of defeat, spinning a web and defending low totals, pulling off some clinical wins, the season had it all.&nbsp;The feeling of being at home and playing for a team you care about is what makes the MI Family special. Robin spoke about the core ethics and culture that make the franchise stand out.&nbsp;“It's about having a really strong foundation. They scout around for players, believe in players, trust players, they look after players, injuries. Not many people know that. They are willing to go that extra mile to support a player. Not many franchises don’t do that. It doesn’t matter if the player is from a different country. As long as you are part of the team, they feel responsible for all these things. This is the sort of culture they have set,” he said.&nbsp;“Apart from that they have the facilities to practice. They are always in touch with players who play for us. They are in touch with players who play in different franchises. It is all about the environment in sport. You want to play for a very good environment in sport. If the environment is good, it is easy to perform when things are taken care of. Everything is looked after.”That would be it then for season four. Some wonderful memories, some heartbreaks. But a fight to be proud of throughout.&nbsp;This is MI Family. This is MI Team. This is MI Pride. We are MI Emirates.&nbsp;

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MI Family, MI Team, MI Pride, MI Emirates 

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This is not how it was supposed to end. This is not what we had manifested. But what a wonderful season this was. Sometimes wonderful things don’t have the end you’d hoped for. Sometimes they end in heartbreaks. Sometimes we just have to doff our hat to the opposition for playing better cricket on the night.&nbsp;Congratulations, Desert VipersMI Emirates, in fact, did a good job restricting the Vipers to 182/4 with some tight final overs. Our batters kept us in the hunt until the end too. We had hope and reason to believe. But it wasn’t to be. With regular wickets, the Vipers derailed our chase and got home to win their maiden trophy.&nbsp;Farooqi’s double strikesOne big moment of cheer for MIE came in Fazalhaq Farooqi’s first over, where he dismissed the dangerous openers, Jason Roy and Fakhar Zaman, who were off to a flier. Although Sam Curran and Max Holden, and then Dan Lawrence, got big partnerships, our bowlers kept the asking rate in check all through.&nbsp;The Waseem kind of a startMuhammad Waseem did Muhammad Waseem things, getting the team off to a flier with his 13-ball 26. But after he fell in the sixth over, and the MIE were down at 54/4, the middle order had a lot to rebuild, and that meant taking the foot off the gas leading to the asking rate going up. They fought, hard, but it simply wasn’t out night.MIE Fam, we know this hurts. But we are proud of our boys for carrying us this far. For all the entertainment and the good memories over the last month, let’s give them a loud shoutout!&nbsp;

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The Final report: We give it our all, put up a brave fight, alas, it isn’t to be :(

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And this is how it begins. Let’s keep the cabinet ready, title #2 is all set to come home!&nbsp;Oh what a season it has been. A win follows a loss and a loss follows a win in the first half of the tournament, five wins on the bounce in the second half, a loss in the first Qualifier meaning a longer route to get into the final, a thumping win in the Eliminator, and now, a chance at becoming the first team to win two ILT20 titles.&nbsp;It had everything typical of a season an MI team has anywhere around the world. They may be slow starters, but the dominance is certain. “I guess it has been a typical MI performance, not starting off too well. Not something we actually like, but that has followed us all around. Having said that, the guys have really rallied around what we needed to do and they have done well. We have had a lot of misses, guys going out, injuries, but we have put all of that behind us and delivered some good cricket. We are deserving finalists, coming up against the best team in the tournament so far. It’s going to be a tough encounter,” said skipper Kieron Pollard in the Pre-Final Captains’ press conference.The Desert Vipers have been the team to beat – topping the table in the league stage and then kind of comprehensively beating us in the Qualifier as well. We have some redemption at stake as well. With both teams in top form, it promises to be one high quality contest. And by the end of the night, we are all set to paint Dubai in our Blue and Gold!What: THE GRAND FINAL&nbsp;| Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates&nbsp;When: January 4, 2026 | 6:30pm local time, 8:00pm ISTWhere: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai&nbsp;What to expect: An MI team knows what it takes to win tournaments. MI Emirates have been there, done that. We know how to build momentum leading into the final. We know to win the big moments. MIE Fam, title #2 is all decked up. Let’s bring it home!&nbsp;

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THE GRAND FINAL | DVvMIE: This looks like a typical MI team season, reckons Kieron Pollard

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Yes, yes, yes. That’s how we come back. That’s the MI Emirates we know. That’s how we put the first Eliminator behind us. That’s how we make it 3-0 over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. THAT’S HOW WE STORM INTO THE FINAL!&nbsp;“See you on the 4th of January,” was what Kieron Pollard said in the pre-season captains’ meet. He knew the fight this team had in them. He knew the effort the entire coaching ecosystem would put in. He knew the tactical genius he was. He knew the MI Family Spirit.Just simply too clinical&nbsp;Our bowlers never allowed the ADKR batters to cut loose. Opting to bowl first after the winning the toss, it was the spinners who started proceedings, and both Shakib Al Hasan and Allah Ghazanfar were just couldn’t be put away. Ghazanfar, in fact, through his spell of 3/24, ensured the Knight Riders didn’t have an escape at the death as well.&nbsp;Muhammad Rohid and Fazalhaq Farooqi chipped in with a couple of wickets each as well to tighten the screws, keeping them to an under-par 120/8 in their 20 overs on a good batting track.Banton, Shakib ensure no-fuss chase&nbsp;At 36/2 with both openers dismissed, it might have looked nervy. Nah. Not if you were MIE and had Shakib and Tom Banton out there. Shakib was the aggressor, Banton, the anchor. With an 82-run stand, they made sure we were home, easily, with nearly four overs to spare.So we meet again, Desert Vipers! Sunday, 4th of Jan, Dubai. Save the date. #2 is coming home!

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Qualifier 2 report: WE ARE INTO THE FINAL!!! Let’s tell the world…

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Talk about quick redemption. The team we lost to in our final league stage, a loss that denied us a top two finish, is the team we are facing in this Eliminator. It was a game for us to forget, and guess what, we have a chance to put that behind us immediately.&nbsp;The road now is simple. While MI Emirates were left in a bit of suspense after the last league game, the task at hand is crystal clear now. We have three games, each one’s a knockout. There are no retakes. The Sharjah Warriorz, a team Tom Banton absolutely loves (courtesy a century and an 84 in the two games), are up in front. They are in our backyard, in our home ground. Oh, bring it on!&nbsp;What: MI Emirates vs Sharjah WarriorzWhen: February 6, 2025 | 18:30 local time, 20:00 ISTWhere: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu DhabiWhat to expect: What a knockout game does is bring in the pressure. But knowing our free-flowing batters, they barely know that word. We are motivated, we are aggressive, and we are coming for that title!&nbsp;

Eliminator | MIEvSW preview: What we need: Three Ws, and an instant redemption

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