Desert Vipers won a one-run thriller over MI Emirates in the ILT20 on Tuesday night, and fun as the game itself was, nothing beat what transpired in the 16th over of the first innings, which involved a declined stumping and a retired out, off successive balls, involving Nicholas Pooran and Max Holden.
Batting first after losing the toss in Abu Dhabi, Vipers had started the 16th over on 110 for 1. Max Holden and Sam Curran were in the middle, but were going nowhere. The four preceding overs had netted exactly 20 runs, and Shimron Hetmyer and Dan Lawrence were in the shed.
Vipers needed a move on, and Englishman Holden, their top-scorer in the innings, was on strike from the third ball after Curran had hit a four and taken a single off Rashid Khan. But no runs came off the third and fourth balls, and MI Emirates lost a review off the last of those when Pooran felt Holden had nicked the ball but the ball had only come to him off the pads. The fifth ball went for two.
Then the drama began.
Rashid to Holden. Holden charges down the track and goes for maximum, but misses the line completely as Rashid keeps it wide. He is so far down the pitch that he doesn't even attempt to get back. Pooran has the ball, but isn't interested in effecting the stumping. Holden realises what Pooran is up to and returns to ground his bat.
Tactics? Oneupmanship?
— International League T20 (@ILT20Official) December 9, 2025
Nicholas Pooran chose not to stump Max Holden, but the Vipers had a trick up their sleeve as well, retiring the batter the very next ball.
What do you make of this? #DPWorldILT20 #AllInForCricket #WhereTheWorldPlays pic.twitter.com/CPK4D0H4lW
"Oh! He did not stump him. Did not stump him," the commentator says on the broadcast. "Wide is called. Could have stumped him by some distance."
Next ball, Rashid to Holden again. Quicker and flatter and at the stumps, heave-ho but no cigar. And then came part two of the incident: Holden is retired out straightaway. Tactical, obviously. For MI Emirates, it would appear, keeping the slow-moving Holden in there made most sense. For Vipers, calling him back was the better option.
Curran's presence didn't really help hugely, as he ended with 19 off 19, but Hetmyer, who replaced Holden, struck 15 in nine, and Lawrence, who walked out next, hit 15 off eight.
For Vipers, that call turned out to be the right one, as the 41 runs they got off the last four overs made all the difference in the end, MI Emirates getting to 158 for 9 in response to their 159 for 4.