Dubai: Cadmore’s miss-timed shot earned David Payne his first. With the batting crumbling, Luke Wells took the onus to steady the ship. The Englishman struck back-to-back boundaries and just when it seemed like he’d found his footing, Wanindu Hasaranga knocked over his stumps with a peach of a delivery. Wells was playing for the googly, but Hasaranga spun the ball in as it sneaked in between bat and pad to crash onto the leg stump. Reeling at 30/5, the Sharjah Warriorz brought Jason Roy on as an Impact Sub to replace Fernando.
The Sharjah Warriorz were down to 45/7 and the Desert Vipers were in complete control of the contest but suffered a setback when their skipper Lockie Ferguson hobbled off the pitch after twisting his ankle. Curran assumed the captaincy responsibilities, while Roy held his bat for the Warriorz. He was their last batting hope but lacked support from the other end as Curran accounted for Harmeet Singh and Tim Southee.
Amir came back to claim a fourth and with it, the Sharjah Warriorz were bundled out for 91 in 19.1 overs. Amir finished with an impressive 4/24, which is the best bowling performance in the Desert Vipers’ history. Hasaranga also claimed a piece of history as his 3/10 was the most economical four-over spell in DP World ILT20.
Player of the match, Mohammad Amir said: “As a new-ball bowler, you try to swing the ball. I believe you have to bowl according to the wicket and hit the right areas. You need to adapt as quickly as you can to conditions, as a bowler. I saw the movie Pushpa 2 last week and the hero did that, so I was doing the same [on his celebration]. We have got a great bowling unit.”
Brief scores:
Desert Vipers beat Sharjah Warriorz by 10 wickets
Sharjah Warriorz 91/10 in 19.1 overs (Jason Roy 30 not out, Harmeet Singh 11, Mohammad Amir 4 for 24, Wanindu Hasaranga 3 for 10, Sam Curran 2 for 14)
Desert Vipers 95/0 in 10 overs (Fakhar Zaman 71 not out, Alex Hales 23 not out)
Player of the match: Mohammad Amir
