The Desert Vipers got back to winning ways at the DP World ILT20 in the UAE on Wednesday in what can only be described as a scintillating performance against Sharjah Warriorz.The Desert Vipers rode on Fakhar Zaman's unbeaten 71 and Mohammad Amir's four-wicket haul to cruise to an emphatic 10-wicket win that consolidated their position atop the standings.The Desert Vipers wasted no time in their chase as Alex Hales got them off to a flyer with a flurry of boundaries.
He clobbered Tim Southee for three fours and then smashed Adam Milne for a maximum as the side raced to 20/0 inside the first two overs.Zaman joined in on the action with some clean hitting as he went after Bangladeshi pacer Junaid Siddique in his first over.
He went across the stump and cut him away for a boundary and then struck a beautiful pull shot for four more.Zaman was in his groove and seemed to have a simple target & to not let the bowlers settle in. He went after Ashton Agar, hitting him for a massive six. The Pakistani batter darted down the track for the next delivery and hit it straight past the bowler as the Desert Vipers put up 47 runs after five overs.
At the same stage in the first innings, the Sharjah Warriorz were 18/4.The gulf in batting was evident as the required run rate dipped below three runs an over and the Desert Vipers& batsmen made merry in the middle. Hales was happy to play the supporting role while Zaman fired on all cylinders. He targeted Siddique again in the seventh over, using all his might to muscle the ball over long on and into the stands.
Zaman brought up his half-century soon after, his second of the season, in 30 balls.It was a matter of time before the Desert Vipers chased down the target and Zaman accelerated that process by executing a textbook slog-sweep to hit Agar for six and followed that up with a lovely six over long-on to wrap up the contest in style. Zaman finished on an impressive 71 in 39 balls while the Desert Vipers clinched a commanding 10-wicket victory.Earlier, the Desert Vipers won the toss and chose to bowl. Player of the match, Mohammad Amir said after the game: &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.Sharjah Warriorz captain Tim Southee said: &It's tough when you&re six for 30 odd, but the beauty of this competition is we have got a couple of days off, dust ourselves off and again meet these guys.
When you have got 90 on the board, you need to get early wickets but a couple of dangerous batters and you are as good as done after that.Thursday's matchesDubai Capitals will take on Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, January 23, at 7pm Kabul time. A pre-match program will be broadcast on Ariana Television from 6.30pm.
The pre-match show and the match will be broadcast live across Afghanistan on Ariana Television. The full broadcasting schedule is as below.
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