Desert Vipers Triumph Over Sharjah Warriorz in ILT20 Showdown

Desert Vipers Secure Victory Against Sharjah Warriorz

Sharjah [UAE], December 27: The Desert Vipers overcame a late challenge to clinch a five-wicket victory against the Sharjah Warriorz at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday during the International League T20 (ILT20).

This outcome dashed the Warriorz's hopes of making the playoffs, while the Vipers achieved a remarkable milestone as the first team in the ILT20 to win eight matches during the group stage.

Following this match, either the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders or the Gulf Giants will finalize the playoff lineup alongside the Desert Vipers, MI Emirates, and Dubai Capitals. These two teams are set to face off on Sunday, December 28, in the last league-stage match. Additionally, the winner of the Saturday encounter between MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals will secure a top-two finish, as stated in a press release from ILT20.

Naseem Shah's impressive performance, taking three wickets, limited the Warriorz to a total of 140/7. Max Holden then led the Vipers to victory with an unbeaten 66 runs off 46 balls, which included nine fours and a six. Although Harmeet Singh's three wickets created some tension, Holden received solid support from Sam Curran, who scored 25 runs off 28 balls, and Hasan Nawaz, who contributed 25 runs off just 14 balls. For the Warriorz, Johnson Charles was the standout performer with the bat, scoring 43 runs off 37 balls, including five fours and two sixes.

In the second innings, the Warriorz initially took control, restricting the Vipers to a mere 28/2 after six overs. Sikandar Raza struck early to dismiss Fakhar Zaman (6 off 9), followed by Richard Ngarava, who removed Andries Gous (1 off 4), leaving the Vipers in a precarious position. Runs were scarce as Sam Curran and Max Holden struggled to find their rhythm until the end of the powerplay.

However, Curran and Holden began to stabilize the innings with a partnership of 64 runs off 53 balls. They skillfully rotated the strike against Adil Rashid until Harmeet Singh broke the partnership in the 12th over by trapping Curran LBW.

Harmeet posed a late threat by taking wickets in the 14th and 16th overs. Dan Lawrence (9 off 7) was the first to go, followed by Jason Roy (4 off 9), who was caught and bowled by the USA spinner. Nevertheless, Nawaz joined Holden, and together they formed an unbeaten partnership of 47 runs off 26 balls to guide the team to victory.

Earlier, David Payne and Khuzaima Tanveer provided the Warriorz with a rocky start, reducing them to 6/2 within two overs. Payne dismissed Monank Patel (4 off 2) LBW in the first over, while Tanveer took out Tom Abell (0 off 2) in the second. Tom Kohler-Cadmore (20 off 22) attempted to counterattack, scoring 19 runs off Naseem Shah in the fifth over, bringing the Warriorz to 45/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Johnson Charles, who had started slowly, broke free by hitting Qais Ahmad for two sixes in the eighth over. He and Kohler-Cadmore added 61 runs in 45 balls until Naseem Shah bowled Kohler-Cadmore in the tenth over. Two overs later, Qais Ahmad struck twice, dismissing Charles and then bowling skipper Sikandar Raza for a golden duck, leaving the Warriorz at 79/5.

James Rew (22 off 20) and Ryan Burl (21* off 25) attempted to revive the innings but struggled to find boundaries. Naseem Shah wrapped up the first innings by taking the wickets of Rew and Harmeet Singh (11 off 8) in the 18th and 20th overs, respectively, limiting the Warriorz to 140/7.

Desert Vipers' captain Sam Curran expressed his satisfaction with the win, stating, “It was really pleasing to get a win heading into the Qualifier. We adjusted to the conditions very well. Max played a superb innings, and Hasan finished it off nicely with some big strikes at the end. It was also good for a few batters to spend time in the middle. We’ve had a fantastic season overall, winning eight out of ten matches.”

On the other hand, Warriorz captain Sikandar Raza reflected on the season's challenges, saying, “Pretty much everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong this season. Had we played those key moments slightly better in a few of our games, we would have qualified already. On these wickets, 150 was a competitive total, and we rarely got there, which is the most painful part. The positives are with the bowling unit — Harmeet has been excellent since joining, Adil has bowled really well, and overall the bowlers consistently kept us in the game.”

Brief Scores:

Desert Vipers beat Sharjah Warriorz by five wickets.

Sharjah Warriorz 140/7 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 43, James Rew 22, Ryan Burl 21 not out; Naseem Shah 3 for 35, Qais Ahmad 2 for 30).

Desert Vipers 144/5 in 19.3 overs (Max Holden 66 not out, Hasan Nawaz 25 not out, Sam Curran 25; Harmeet Singh 3 for 29, Sikandar Raza 1 for 27).

Player of the match: Max Holden.