ILT20 Qualifier 1: Desert Vipers Face MI Emirates Tonight in Abu Dhabi

Overview

• First ball is at 8:00 PM IST at Sheikh Zayed Stadium; in India the match airs on Zee Network with streaming on Zee5 and Fancode by subscription.
• The winner advances to the ILT20 final, while the loser gets another route via Qualifier 2 under the tournament format.
• Form and rivalry: Desert Vipers topped the league at 8–2, MI Emirates finished second at 7–3 with five straight wins, and the head-to-head is level at 4–4 with one win each this season.
• Conditions point to a bat-then-bowl balance early before dew aids chasing; no rain is forecast (around 25–20°C), captains are advised to bowl first, and 180–190 is the par first-innings target.
• Probable XIs feature names like Sam Curran, Max Holden, Fakhar Zaman, and Naseem Shah for DV and Kieron Pollard, Muhammad Waseem, Tom Banton, and Zahoor Khan for MIE; previews flag key battles and suggest MI Emirates start as slight favourites, while some predictions tip the chasing side.