ILT20 2025-26: Skipper Dasun Shanaka confident of Dubai Capitals responding strongly in next game

The International League T20 (ILT20) 2025-26 kicked off on Tuesday, December 2, with a clash between the defending champions Dubai Capitals and the Desert Vipers at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was a replay of season 3’s final, with the Vipers eventually winning by four wickets.

Speaking post the loss, skipper Dasun Shanaka shared his thoughts on how the match panned out. He added that the team faced early pressure in the powerplay, which eventually hurt their chances in the tournament opener.

“We always knew the first game would tell us a lot about the conditions, but we ended up 10–15 runs short of what this wicket demanded. If we had kept a few more wickets in hand, the finish could have been much stronger and the scoreboard very different” Shanaka was quoted as saying.

 “Cricket is a momentum-driven sport. We couldn’t set the tone either with the bat or the ball, especially in the powerplay, and that’s where they took the game away. Their batters made the most of the loose deliveries we bowled, and that early pressure made a big difference despite our later recovery,” Shanaka added.

Batting first, the top order faced early pressure after the wickets of Sediqullah Atal (16 off 13) and Shayan Jahangir (19 off 15). Gulbadin Naib (0 off 1) and Jordan Cox (2 off 7) started off a collapse in the opening overs, but then Rovman Powell (29 off 22) and Mohammad Nabi (29 off 23) helped the side to 150 runs in their stipulated 20 overs. For the Vipers, opening Andries Gous scored a half century and helped his team to the win. 

Shanaka takes responsibility for the loss

The Sri Lankan all-rounder took responsibility for the loss but was confident, saying that the team will look to find their learnings from the game after analysing the moments where the match eventually slipped out of their hands. He also assured the fans to come back even stronger in the upcoming game for their next encounter. 

“As captain, I know I have to take more responsibility and bat higher up the order. Today’s collapse pushed me down a bit because we needed the innings to settle, but we’ll reassess our plans. We’re a much better side than what we showed, and I’m confident we’ll respond strongly in the next game,” Shanaka added further.

The defending champions will now face off against the Gulf Giants on Saturday, December 6, for their second match of the tournament.