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It's never a nice feeling being on the wrong side of a one-run defeat. Tom Banton set the platform with a 29-ball 34, but sadly, it wasn't enough to get us home. But he stressed on the importance of taking lessons out of this game and moving on quickly in the post-match chat. Excerpts..On ending up on the wrong side at the end&nbsp;It is a tough one to take. Throughout the whole game it swung both ways. Tough one to take. The games come thick and fast, we’ve got one day after tomorrow. We have to learn from our mistakes and try and move on.&nbsp;Thoughts on the pitch&nbsp;We were chatting with a few English lads and everyone seemed to think it was a good wicket. But every batter kind of struggled, which is sometimes how it goes. Disappointing for us, but we have to take it and move on.&nbsp;On playing with some big names&nbsp;I’m playing here with Nicky P (Pooran) and Polly (Kieron Pollard), guys I have watched growing up. Obviously to be at the other end to those guys is pretty cool. When you play other teams, there are the English guys you don’t want to get out to.&nbsp;On the weather in the UAE at the moment&nbsp;I can’t complain. In England it is one or two degrees and it’s raining. I’m very happy to be here.&nbsp;

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“We’ll learn quickly and move on”: Tom Banton after one-run heartbreak 

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Heartbreaks are bad enough, but this one’s hit us just when we thought we had it in our grasp. From an impossible-looking situation, we were right back in the boss chair. Alas. It wasn’t to be. MI Emirates fell short, by one run.&nbsp;MI Emirates needed 16 to win off the final over with just two wickets in hand. It soon boiled down to 12 off three. Rashid Khan was on strike.&nbsp;19.4: A slower short ball. Rashid swiveled and pulled way over mid-wicket for a SIX19.5: A high full toss. Rashid swings, gets an under-edge and the keeper misfields. FOUR19.6: 2 off 1 now. MIE could smell the two points. But Khuzaima Tanveen bowls a slower ball outside off. Rashid had already backed away. He swings, misses, tries to sneak in a bye, but the keeper nails a direct hit catching Allah Ghazanfar short. It wasn’t to be ..&nbsp;Excellent defensive bowling to keep the Vipers to 158MI Emirates’ bowlers had the Desert Vipers in a fix in the middle overs, just not allowing them to get away. Fakhar Zaman got a 31-ball 35, Max Holden had to retire out for a 37-ball 42, and in the end, the strategy to hold Rashid Khan back until the end paid off big time.&nbsp;The Pollard-Dhillon impetus&nbsp;Although Tom Banton and Muhammad Waseem stitched together a 42-run stand for the second wicket, and then Nicholas Pooran and Banton got a 42-run stand for the third wicket, it was the 13-ball 23 from captain Polly, along with a seven-ball blitz of 17 from Tajinder Dhillon that got the MI Emirates back in the game firmly. Sadly, wickets kept tumbling, and we fell just short. Just!&nbsp;

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MIEvDV report: By the barest of margins … :(

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It’s always lovely to come home after two games on the road. And we’re here for a bit with three matches on the bounce. If you haven’t recovered from the mad heist against the Warriorz, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Allah Ghazanfar’s bamboozling spell, Romario Shepherd’s yorkers and the MIE Spirit on full display – oh, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to pick up first points.&nbsp;On that high note, we come home. With a loud Blue and Gold army behind us, trust Captain Pollard and Co. to take it up a notch. The Desert Vipers are coming on the back of back to back wins, both while chasing. In the six games that the two teams have played so far, both have won three each. Noor Ahmad vs Ghazanfar, Fakhar Zaman vs Jonny Bairstow, Kieron Pollard vs Sam Curran. There are plenty of fascinating rivalries within to build up for one grand contest.&nbsp;What:&nbsp;MI Emirates vs Desert Vipers&nbsp;When:&nbsp;December&nbsp;9, 2025 | 6:30pm local time, 8:00pm IST&nbsp;Where:&nbsp;Zayed&nbsp;Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi&nbsp;What to expect: This is set to be the first game to be played in Abu Dhabi, so the conditions and the pitch are a bit unknown. Trust there to be good bounce, lots of runs and lots of dew.&nbsp;

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Match 3 | MIEvDV preview: Habibi, we are in Abu Dhabi! 

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After coming to the party with a solid 29-ball 39 to lay the foundation for MI Emirates’ strong total of 185, Muhammad Waseem speaks at the post-match press conference about a match that’s bound to go down in MI Emirates’ folklore. Excerpts..On his solid start with the bat&nbsp;We are happy to have finished the day with two points. Happy with my contribution too.&nbsp;Whether he thought MI Emirates would end up on the winning side&nbsp;At one point it looked like we wouldn’t win the game when TKC (Tom Kohler-Cadmore) and Sikandar Raza were batting. But we showed belief and we knew that we were just one wicket away. When we got Raza’s wicket and a maiden over too, we started to believe. It was a top effort from the bowlers. Very happy with the team’s performance.&nbsp;On the rising level at ILT20The competition has been rising year on year. Good players are coming in every year because every franchise is looking to develop their teams. The competition has become very tight. It’s good for the future of batters and bowlers if they do well in such leagues.&nbsp;On playing with big international players&nbsp;It felt good. This is my fourth year. Newer players might be under pressure but not me, because I have played with Polly and Pooran earlier. My team and management never put any pressure on me. This is my home ground and I try to share my experience with my players about the pitch.&nbsp;On batting with Jonny Bairstow in the middleHe has played a lot for England and is very experienced. What I liked about him is that after every ball, he talks to the other batter, whether he is on strike or at the non-striker’s. He talks about what we could have done on a particular delivery, what the ball is doing. This helps in releasing the pressure, which then helps later while batting. I have enjoyed batting with him.&nbsp;On Shakib Al Hasan’s presence within the team&nbsp;Shakib bhai is a great person and a player. We have played together in the past as well. We use his experience with both bat and ball. We will see him shine in the future matches.&nbsp;

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“We started to believe after Raza’s wicket in that maiden over”: Muhammad Waseem

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Just MIE things. Just MI Family things. From the jaws of defeat, we’ve snatched out two points. Oh, this match looked gone at one stage. But Romario Shepherd, and his last over madness, first with bat and then with the ball, made sure the MI Spirit was on peak display..&nbsp;That&nbsp;Ghazanfar overOkay, this was where everything turned on its head. 35 runs were needed off five overs with seven wickets in hand for the Sharjah Warriorz. But Allah Ghazanfar and his mystery spin had different plans. 00WW00. The dangerous Sikandar Raza was sent back for a 33-ball 64. And suddenly, just like that, we were right back in it.Onto Romario nowWalking out to bat in the 18th over with Kieron Pollard just having fallen and MI Emirates at an under-par 150/5, Shepherd smoked two sixes to end the over. And then smoked two more to end the 20th over, lifting MIE to a solid 185 in the process. With the ball now, defending 11 to win against the set Dinesh Karthik on strike, he went yorker after yorker after yorker, nailing them with utmost precision and closing the game with four runs to spare!&nbsp;Waseem-Bairstow lay the foundation&nbsp;You can be assured of a treat when Jonny Bairstow and Muhammad Waseem are on song. Well, they were watchful for a couple of overs, but when they cut loose, boy, it was some show. MI Emirates raced past 50 in the powerplay, and together, the tone for the innings was set.&nbsp;The tale of cameos&nbsp;Shakib Al Hasan: 16(12)Tom Banton: 32(21)Tajinder Dhillon: 17(8)Romario Shepherd: 31(10)Everybody chipped in to ensure the MI Emirates had a strong total to defend. Defend we did, and how!

SWvMIE report: Yes, yes, yes!!! That’s peak MIE SPIRIT on show

By MI Emirates Media

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