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And that is that from this contest but there is cricketing action aplenty from around the world. January has come to a close and what a rollercoaster month it was. February promises to be equally riveting so do join us for our coverage of all the action from across the globe here on Sportskeeda. For the moment though, this is the duo of Arya Shekar Chakraborty and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. See you around soon - good night!
All smiles for Wanindu Hasaranga and the Desert Vipers. They suffered an annihilation on this very ground against MI Emirates a few days ago but have stormed back in style tonight to get back to winning ways. And by virtue of that, Desert Vipers are the first team to sail into the playoffs of the inaugural ILT20. They are looking a well-rounded and confident unit ahead of that phase alright! As for the Warriors, they have work to do and will receive a massive boost in the form of the returning Moeen Ali, post the conclusion of the one-dayers in South Africa. They need to win both their remaining games now to keep their qualification fate in their own hands.
Wanindu Hasaranga is undoubtedly the Player of the Match for his magnificent spell of 3/13. Here's what he has to say: I'm really happy because of the win. My wrong 'un is coming out well so really happy about it. (How's the body feeling?) All good. I wasn't there the last game but now I'm fine. We all saw how the pitch played. I enjoyed bowling there.
Colin Munro (Desert Vipers captain): Tricky wicket, but I thought we did really well to scrap through to that target. We didn't deviate from our plans, we stuck at it. Hard lengths and it worked for us. No (laughs when asked if he's getting better at reading pitches). It actually looked very similar to the other night. But the batters applied themselves really well, Benny coming out and doing what he did. The bowlers were outstanding. Hasaranga came and bowled four on the trot and was exceptional. I've said it before that we've got a wonderful bench and it's going to take a whole squad to win a tournament. We've tried to create an environment where everyone feels valued. Credit goes to the support staff. Really enjoying it (captaincy). Nice to have two or three different options. It's working out really well at the moment.
Joe Denly (Sharjah Warriors captain): It was a tricky one. We've got another game here, we finish our group stage here. A bit of time to reflect now and come back better. (130-135 a par score?) I think so. I was pretty happy with the start we had with the ball and through that middle period, we just let that slip away a little bit. We took that lack of momentum into the batting innings and never got going. We lost early wickets and couldn't really get any partnerships going. After the first few games we've redeemed ourselves. We've still got a very good chance of qualifying. Will be great to have Moeen and the England boys back.
Match Summary: Desert Vipers beat Sharjah Warriors by 22 runs.
Benny Howell 34* (23)| Wanindu Hasaranga 3/13 (4) Paul Walter 27 (23) | Noor Ahmad 2/27 (4)
It didn't seem like the Desert Vipers had enough on the board even on a tacky surface. But wow, haven't their bowlers put in a stellar performance or what! A professional defense, and this takes Colin Munro and Co. surging to the top of the points table and into the playoffs as well.
When Tom Kohler-Cadmore tore into Sheldon Cottrell in the opening over, it seemed as though the Sharjah Warriors were going to run away with the contest. All it needed, however, was a couple of wickets to break the game open and the English duo of Gus Atkinson and Luke Wood did the needful to send both openers packing. With Marcus Stoinis then tied up towards the back end of the powerplay, the pressure was on the Warriors to try and push things forward.
It was far from what transpired, however, with Wanindu Hasaranga getting into the act and weaving his magic. The odd ball continued to keep low and he unleashed his googly at will with the batters looking all at sea against him. They simply couldn't pick him out of the hand and he was all over them like a bad rash, with his three-fer denting the chase for good.
The asking rate automatically rose with each subsequent quiet over. Paul Walter hung around and kept the chase afloat, even as Noor Ahmad came out fighting hard. But with neither able to convert their start into a big knock, it signaled doom for the Warriors as they never managed to pick themselves up. Hasaranga was of course the star of the show, but Wood was spot on with his lengths and played a massive role in not just chipping away at the wickets, but also keeping the batters quiet. Atkinson hit his hard lengths to perfection and generated uneven bounce and it was just a bridge too far to cross for the Warriors as their qualification fate now hangs in the balance. Stay tuned to hear what the captains have to say...
A fabulous defense by the Desert Vipers and this will add a spring into their step. They will be buoyed by the manner in which they have defended this total and have pocketed a very handsome win to boot. Desert Vipers win by 22 runs!
20
overs
126/8score
1wd
1wd
1
2
1
0
0
0
runs
Naveen-ul-Haq*
7(7)
Junaid Siddique
7(9)
Shiraz Ahmed
0/6
19.6 Shiraz Ahmed to Naveen-ul-Haq, that's it. Shiraz Ahmed closes it out with a slower delivery, very slow on the surface outside off and Naveen couldn't quite put bat to ball.
19.5 Shiraz Ahmed to Naveen-ul-Haq, fuller-length delivery on middle, that has been crunched down the ground but it just clatters onto the stumps at the non-striker's end.
How has that missed the leg pole?
19.4 Shiraz Ahmed to Naveen-ul-Haq, Naveen comes down the track and tries to hack it down the leg side, drops it on the surface and Naveen way too early into the shot.
And that's the game!
19.3 Shiraz Ahmed to Junaid Siddique, a low full toss around middle stump, squeezed away by Junaid down towards the cover region for a single.
Four sixes needed now!
19.2 Shiraz Ahmed to Junaid Siddiqui, fuller-length delivery around off, Siddiqui tries to swing across the line, gets it from the inside half down towards the deep midwicket region and rotates for a couple.
Shiraz cheekily signals the 'T' towards Munro, asking him to refer it. He wears a grin as he does so.
19.1 Shiraz Ahmed to Naveen-ul-Haq, that was a low full toss from Shiraz Ahmed, Naveen again goes for the cute little ramp over third man, gets an inside edge onto his pads and manages to steal a single.
Pressure on Shiraz! Never easy being thrown into the deep end straightaway. Surely, Munro could have turned to Howell here?
19.1 Shiraz Ahmed to Naveen-ul-Haq, will be another wide. Shortish length angling down the leg side and Shiraz has to reload that again.