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The stakes don’t get any bigger. The top two teams on the points table are all set to go head to head, with the MI Emirates riding their momentum wave and also looking to avenge that one-run last ball heartbreak. We’ve managed to turn our win-follows-a-loss-follows-a-win syndrome with two back to back wins. The third one’s calling!&nbsp;As our Bowing Coach, Paras Mhambrey said after the previous game, the team is ticking the right boxes leading into the tail-end of the tournament. This is where the Blue and Gold peak. This is where the #OneFamily’s killer instinct comes to the fore. Both the Vipers and MIE have a quick turnaround here, each having played a game the previous day. Tired? Nah! Excited? Oh yes!&nbsp;What: Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates&nbsp;When: December 21, 2025 | 6:30pm local time, 8:00pm IST&nbsp;Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, DubaiWhat to expect: With the winter setting in and the dew not quite, the trend of chasing in this tournament seems to have ease out, with teams batting first winning a majority of the games over the last week. Just pure skill now is precisely what this clash of the table toppers demands!&nbsp;

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Match 8 | DVvMIE preview: A mouth-watering #1 versus #2 clash

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In a tournament where defending targets has been a nightmare, MI Emirates have managed to pull off three out of their four wins in such defences. And this one followed a very similar template: pulling the game back from a point where the opposition had their noses well ahead in the chase. The MIE Spirit of never giving up and constantly keeping the fight on saw another two points come home in this Abu Dhabi derby!&nbsp;Proper team effort with the batWaseem: 37(36)Bairstow: 38(16)Banton: 38(28)Pooran: 40(24)Pollard: 28(16)Everybody chipped in and made sure the scoring rate never dipped as MI Emirates finished on a strong 187/4 in their 20 overs.&nbsp;Pulling it back from 96/1 in the 10th overThat’s where ADKR were at the halfway stage. With the asking rate nicely under control and nine wickets in hand, we needed something special to bring us back. And it came via Arab Gul, whose short delivery got the better of the set Alex Hales who holed out to long-on. The twist was enabled.&nbsp;And Zahoor triggers the collapse&nbsp;Just 56 runs came off the last ten overs in the ADKR innings. That’s the level of top bowling we are talking about here. Using the older ball to good effect, Zahoor Khan was the chief destructor, mixing up his change-of-pace deliveries perfectly, getting three big wickets – Sherfane Rutherford, Liam Livingstone and Sunil Narine – to carry us home comfortably in the end.&nbsp;

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ADKRvMIE report: Mission 2-0 in the Abu Dhabi derby – ACCOMPLISHED

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MI Emirates might have jumped to the second spot on the points table and this is the first time in this season that the team has won two games in a row, but Bowling Coach, Parash Mhambrey, insisted on taking one game at a time and building on the momentum. He speaks to the media at the post-match press conference, dissecting the win. Excerpts..Thoughts on the matchExcellent match. A much needed win for us in the tail-end of the tournament, and it’s good to see us tick a lot of the boxes, not only in the bowling but in the batting as well. It is important to give a total to the bowlers. The discussion has been around areas where we can improve and batting is one of it. Just the way we applied ourselves, reading the situation and pulling it through and posting a wonderful score, we’ve done well.&nbsp;On the team peaking at the right timeOne game at a time, that’s the only discussion we have had. Not think too forward and take one game at a time. If you look a few games ago, the way we are now, we are ticking the right boxes. The momentum is something we want to take forward.&nbsp;Whether he was happy with the first innings scoreAt one stage when you are defending a big score, the powerplay is very important. We had a decent powerplay, giving 50 odd runs and picking a wicket. We knew after the powerplay with the open field and the wicket getting slower, we had the bowlers to do the job for us.&nbsp;On Zahoor Khan’s brilliant spellHe’s been chipping in. Unfortunately the last column of wickets hasn’t been filled but he has done the job for us. Especially in this game, I thought he was fabulous. Defending a big score, we knew the batters would come hard. To be able to exploit the conditions and just the way he bowled under pressure, hats off to him.&nbsp;On Arab Gul making an impact on debutArab, in his first game, you expect him to have nerves. Just the way he has bowled, plenty of positives from whatever we’ve seen in this game.&nbsp;On the team looking to build on the momentumIt is important to have momentum in your favour when you know every game matters. Having that momentum into the qualifiers and the knockout is very important.&nbsp;

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“One match at a time”: Paras Mhambrey 

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The festive season in the desert has a Christmassy feeling. We are back in Abu Dhabi on the back of one heck of a win, defending 137 like lions. We also are on the high of the thumping win over ADKR in the reverse fixture. We are currently third on the points table and with two games over the weekend, have a serious chance of cementing a spot in the top two.&nbsp;It’s also the perfect opportunity for us to end this loss s follows a win, win follows a loss syndrome that has bugged us in our seven six games so far. It’s time to add a W to the W. With the pitches getting slower as the season goes on, our spinners are absolutely loving it out there. Let’s bring it home!&nbsp;What: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates&nbsp;When: December 20, 2025 | 2:00pm local, 3:30pm ISTWhere: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi&nbsp;What to expect: The Knight Riders have managed to turn around three consecutive losses and have bounced back with two wins on the bounce. Both teams are currently on six points and with the business end approaching, should be equally desperate to ride the momentum wave. On the whole, this match could boil down to the battle between the spinners from either side.&nbsp;

Match 7 | ADKRvMIE: Abu Dhabi derby, 2-0 beckons!

By MI Emirates Media

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