Dubai: Desert Vipers continued their strong run in the DP World ILT20 season 4 with a comprehensive victory over Sharjah Warriorz, beating them by four wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday. The win consolidated their position at the top of the standings, with 14 points in eight matches and are guaranteed a spot in the top two.
David Payne’s disciplined bowling performance bundled the hosts for a modest total of 90 runs. Barring Tom Abell’s unbeaten 35 runs in 36 balls, the Warriorz did not hurt the Vipers’ bowling. With the bat, Sam Curran’s 37 off 31 with five fours, ensured a comfortable run chase with 37 balls to spare.
Chasing a meagre target, the Vipers made a steady start despite losing early wickets. Taskin Ahmed did the early damage for the Warriorz, removing Fakhar Zaman (6 off 6) and Hasan Nawaz (10 off 11), but Sam Curran countered with a couple of boundaries to keep the run rate in check. Max Holden (8 off 9) fell to Dwaine Pretorius, leaving the Vipers at 38/3 after six overs.
Curran anchored the innings in the middle overs, rotating the strike efficiently with Dan Lawrence (14 off 14). Despite tidy spells from Taskin Ahmed, Adil Rashid and Dwaine Pretorius, the Warriorz were unable to apply sustained pressure as the Vipers calmly knocked off singles and kept the chase firmly on track.
Barring a few late wickets for the Warriorz – Harmeet Singh removed Lawrence and Sikandar Raza dismissed Curran – Tom Bruce’s (10* off 4) six and four off Harmeet in the 13th over took the game beyond the Warriorz. Vriitya Aravind (3* off 3) clipped Rashid for the winning run, consigning Sharjah to another defeat at the foot of the table.
Earlier in the match, David Payne struck twice in the powerplay to remove Johnson Charles (3 off 9) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (9 off 11), conceding just nine runs in three overs. Khuzaima Tanveer and Naseem Shah maintained pressure from the other end to keep the Warriorz in check as they crawling to 28/2 after six overs.
Payne struck again just after the powerplay to remove James Rew for a duck, completing a super spell of three for 14. Lawrence and Naseem Shah then conceded just 11 runs across overs 8 and 9, as boundaries dried up completely.
The Warriorz never found momentum through the middle overs as regular wickets kept falling. Noor Ahmad and Curran applied the pressure, with Noor removing Ethan D’Souza (18 off 21) via a sharp stumping and later trapping Harmeet Singh (4 off 6) LBW, while Curran got Sikandar Raza (1 off 3). Despite Tom Abell batting with composure, support around him was minimal.
The innings then unravelled rapidly at the death. Khuzaima Tanveer struck twice in the 15th over, removing Dinesh Karthik (3 off 5) and Dwaine Pretorius (1 off 3), before Naseem Shah finished things off with a decisive burst in the 18th, dismissing Adil Rashid (1 off 6) and Taskin Ahmed (2 off 4). The Warriorz slid from 76/7 to 90 all out in quick time, setting a meagre target for their opponents.
Player of the match David Payne said, “My plans were slightly different to usual tonight. It was more about bowling across the bat and matching up against their strengths. We know where Johnson Charles likes to score, so the idea was to stay out of his arc, and thankfully it worked. Having such a strong bowling attack around me takes a lot of pressure off. There are so many world-class bowlers in this side, and our real strength lies in how well we communicate and work together.”
Sharjah Warriorz skipper Sikandar Raza said, “We’ve won our games when batting first, and while chasing we haven’t quite found the right combinations. The thought at the toss was to give our batters the freedom to set a total, because on this surface 140–145 can be very tough to chase. When your back is against the wall, character is revealed. For us, every game now is like a final, and if we can win three in a row, no team will be better prepared for the playoffs than us.”
