Desert Vipers take positives despite Guyana Global Super League exit

DUBAI: Desert Vipers head coach Azhar Mahmood has urged his side to learn from its shortcomings after the franchise’s Guyana Global Super League campaign ended with defeat in the qualifier, while highlighting the emergence of UAE players as a major positive from the tournament.

The Vipers missed out on a place in Saturday’s final after losing by eight wickets to the San Francisco Unicorns in Guyana on Friday.

After being bowled out for 122 for seven, the Unicorns chased down the target with 23 balls to spare to book a meeting with defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Mahmood acknowledged that the Vipers had fallen short in a match where their batting struggled against spin, but said there were encouraging signs to build on.

“I think we were not up to the mark. After we lost a couple of early wickets of Andries Gous and Rilee Rossouw, I felt our intent was not there. And we did not build up partnerships. Running between the wickets was not great either,” Mahmood said on the “Vipers Voices” podcast.

“They (San Francisco Unicorns) bowled really well. They had, I think, 17 overs of spin. They have experienced finger spinners and they bowled wicket to wicket and put us into trouble.”

Despite the disappointment of falling short of the final, Mahmood pointed to several standout individual performances during the tournament, particularly from UAE internationals Vriitya Aravind and Sanjay Pahal.

“I think there were some positives throughout the tournament, like Rilee (Rossouw) played really well. Unfortunately, he missed out in this game. And I think Vriitya Aravind and Sanjay Pahal, our two UAE boys, did a remarkable job for us, especially Vriitya with the way he batted throughout of the tournament. I think that