Sharjah, Jan 28 (IANS): The Dubai Capitals faced defeat against the Gulf Giants during their last ILT20 match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. However, Dutch veteran Roelof van der Merwe picked up three wickets on the night while his team tried to defend 132/7.

Sharing his thoughts about the game, Roelof said that his team were a few runs short, “The two Gulf Giants openers gave their team an unbelievable start in the powerplay, which put us on the back foot. We might have been a few runs short, especially when our opponents had such a good powerplay with the bat. In such situations, it's very hard to come back, but we did our best with the ball and took the game to the very end.”

He also praised his teammates for their bowling and fielding efforts, “We knew that to win the game, we would have to bowl and field very well. But we always believed we could win the game, and this helped us. It was a tough match that went right to the very end,” he said.

The Dutchman lauded the ILT20 for the competitive nature of the league, “Every cricket league around the world has a trademark. The ILT20 is very competitive and has some of the best international players in the world. It is always nice to test yourself against such talents of the game.