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ILT20 Season 4 Recap: What Season 5 Teams Can Learn

Season recaps · By the ILT20 Web Desk · Published 30 October 2026, 9:55 pm GST (10:55 pm PKT)

Last updated: 31 October 2026.

This ILT20 Season 4 recap starts with the final, because that is the night the record is clean. Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates by 46 runs in Dubai on 4 January 2026. The winners list has the other three finals.

ILT20 Season 4 Results and Final Standings

A full league table for Season 4 is not reprinted here ball by ball. The final is. Desert Vipers 182 for 4. MI Emirates 136 all out in 18.3 overs. Player of the match and player of the series: Sam Curran. The franchise reported 397 tournament runs for him. A Cricinfo impact card showed 308 in a different presentation. Both figures are cited. They are not averaged.

ILT20 Season 4 Final: How the Title Was Won

MI Emirates won the toss and fielded. Max Holden made 41. Curran finished 74 not out off 51, with eight fours and two sixes, after a stand with Dan Lawrence. Then the bowling. Naseem Shah 3 for 18, David Payne 3 for 42, Usman Tariq 2 for 20, Khuzaima Tanveer 2 for 22. Shakib Al Hasan top-scored for MI with 36. Those figures agree across the Vipers' report and the Cricexec brief.

Standout Performers of ILT20 Season 4

Curran took the red and green belts. Waqar Salamkheil took the white belt, then, for Season 5, appears on the Sharjah Warriorz list rather than the Capitals list. Farooqi, who bowled in that final for the Emirates, is now their record signing rather than a Viper. Usman Tariq is on the Knight Riders list, not the Vipers list. Those moves are the concrete changes.

Biggest Surprises and Turning Points

182 was enough that night. It is not a law that 182 wins Dubai finals. Capitals chased 190 the year before. The turning point worth keeping is the clump of wickets, not a magic total. Prize money reported for that final was USD 700,000 to the champions and USD 300,000 to the runners-up. That describes 4 January 2026, not a Season 5 contract.

Lessons ILT20 Season 5 Teams Should Take From Season 4

Bowling depth at the back of a tournament showed up. Several of those options are still on the Vipers list. Tariq is not. Curran is not. If your model of the champions is still Curran at the death, update the model. The captain is Babar Azam.

The final, over by over in the figures we will stand behind

MI Emirates won the toss and fielded on 4 January 2026 in Dubai. Desert Vipers made 182 for 4. Max Holden scored 41. Sam Curran finished 74 not out off 51, with eight fours and two sixes, after a stand with Dan Lawrence. Then the bowling. Naseem Shah took 3 for 18, David Payne 3 for 42, Usman Tariq 2 for 20 and Khuzaima Tanveer 2 for 22. MI Emirates were 136 all out in 18.3 overs. Shakib Al Hasan top-scored with 36. Those figures agree across the Vipers' report and the Cricexec brief. Curran was player of the match and player of the series. The franchise reported 397 tournament runs for him. A Cricinfo impact card showed 308 in a different presentation. Both are cited. They are not averaged into a third number.

182 was enough that night. It is not a law that 182 wins Dubai finals. Capitals chased 190 the year before, in the 2025 final, after Vipers made 189 for 5. The turning point worth keeping from January 2026 is the clump of wickets, not a magic total. Prize money reported for that final was USD 700,000 to the champions and USD 300,000 to the runners-up. That describes 4 January. It is not a Season 5 contract.

Where those names moved

Curran is not on the Season 5 Vipers list. The captain is Babar Azam, in his first ILT20 season, with Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan at a reported USD 80,000 each. David Payne, who took three in the final, cost a reported USD 150,000 and is still a Viper. Usman Tariq is on the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders list. Farooqi, who bowled in that final while he was still with the Vipers, is the MI Emirates signing at a reported USD 380,000. Waqar Salamkheil took the white belt in a Capitals shirt and is listed by Sharjah Warriorz. If a model of the champions still ends with Curran at the death, the model is last season's model. The opener on 21 November is the same two clubs, Vipers and MI Emirates, in the same city, with a different set of names around them. Babar has not played this league. Boucher is new in the MI coach's seat. Those are the lessons worth keeping. A total of 182 is not one of them. The rest of Season 4's league table is not reprinted ball by ball on this page. The final is the night the sources agree. Placements that were repeated after the season still matter for one fact: Warriorz had not reached a final, and Knight Riders had not won one. Capitals had won the year before. Giants had won the first. MI Emirates had won 2024 and then lost this final. Four champions, then a squad market that moved the final's bowlers into different shirts. That is the recap Season 5 teams can use. Naseem and Payne stayed in the champion attack. Tariq did not. Farooqi changed clubs at the record fee. Salamkheil changed clubs with a white belt. Curran left the list entirely. Anyone writing a Season 5 preview from the January scorecard without those moves is describing a team that no longer exists. The ILT20 Season 4 recap is useful only if it changes the team sheet in your head. The champion is the same. The cast around the champion is not. Checked against the final reports dated for 4 January 2026 in Dubai that night, including the score and the four bowling returns named above.

In 2023, Gulf Giants beat Desert Vipers at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Gulf Giants won by 7 wickets. Desert Vipers 146/8 (20). Gulf Giants 149/3 (18.4). Player of the series: Chris Jordan (Gulf Giants).

In 2024, MI Emirates beat Dubai Capitals at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. MI Emirates won by 45 runs. MI Emirates 208/3 (20). Dubai Capitals 163/7 (20). Player of the series: Sikandar Raza (Dubai Capitals).

In 2025, Dubai Capitals beat Desert Vipers at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Dubai Capitals won by 4 wickets. Desert Vipers 189/5 (20). Dubai Capitals 191/6 (19.2). Player of the series: To be announced.

In 2025-26, Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Desert Vipers won by 46 runs. Desert Vipers 182/4 (20). MI Emirates 136 (18.3). Final played on 4 January 2026. Player of the series: Sam Curran (Desert Vipers).

The ILT20 Season 4 recap ends on that correction. Season 5 opens with the same two teams, on 21 November 2026, and a different set of names around them. Checked 30 October 2026.

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