91/6 (13.5)
CR : 6.58
90/10 (17.5)
CR : 5.05
Desert Vipers won by 4 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
David Payne
3/14
Over 14
Desert Vipers 91/6
Vriitya Aravind3(3)
Tom Bruce10(4)
Adil Rashid1-16(2.5)
DV won by 4 wickets
10:59 PM IST, 9:29 PM local time: Desert Vipers hand Sharjah Warriorz a thrashing. On paper, it just a 4-wicket win, but in essence, it feels like a mauling. With this victory, they are almost guaranteed to finish the group stage as table toppers.
"We want to break the stereotype of batting second", claimed Sikandar Raza when he elected to bat first post winning the toss. A statement that he might look back at red-faced now. After all, such was the performance that his team put in.
The batting innings moved along like an old, broken-down car stuttering at every mile of the way. The new ball generated some swing and the wicket even offered some grip and turn. However, it wasn't a devious pitch by any means.
Some reckless and poorly executed shots and the failure to keep the scoreboard ticking is what plagued them. David Payne was the pick of the bowlers. He delivered his 4 overs on a trott and finished with outstanding figures of 3/14. Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Dan Lawrence and Noor Ahmed continued to build pressure in the middle overs, while Naseem Shah feasted on the rabbit pie.
An impressive spell with the new ball from Taskin Ahmed did ignite the hopes for a brief moment, but Sam Curran's confident knock of 37 (31) ensured that the table-toppers were on their way. An opening was briefly created when the wicket of Lawrence was followed by Raza going through the Vipers' skipper's defences. However, it turned out to be a no-ball. What followed were mere formalities.
"We want to break the stereotype of batting second", claimed Sikandar Raza when he elected to bat first post winning the toss. A statement that he might look back at red-faced now. After all, such was the performance that his team put in.
The batting innings moved along like an old, broken-down car stuttering at every mile of the way. The new ball generated some swing and the wicket even offered some grip and turn. However, it wasn't a devious pitch by any means.
Some reckless and poorly executed shots and the failure to keep the scoreboard ticking is what plagued them. David Payne was the pick of the bowlers. He delivered his 4 overs on a trott and finished with outstanding figures of 3/14. Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Dan Lawrence and Noor Ahmed continued to build pressure in the middle overs, while Naseem Shah feasted on the rabbit pie.
An impressive spell with the new ball from Taskin Ahmed did ignite the hopes for a brief moment, but Sam Curran's confident knock of 37 (31) ensured that the table-toppers were on their way. An opening was briefly created when the wicket of Lawrence was followed by Raza going through the Vipers' skipper's defences. However, it turned out to be a no-ball. What followed were mere formalities.
Time for the post-match presentations.
Sikandar Raza (Sharjah Warriorz Captain): "Both games we have won batting first. I felt like under the chasing we have not got the combination right. A lot of players are leaving an coming in. We are still looking for that. That was the best chance to play freely. If we got 140-150 on the board, it would've been better.
Suddenly we looked at the stats that they take a lot of wickets in the powerplay. If we do not run away with the game, as long as we are not losing wickets, it gives us the best chance to get to 140. Unfortunately if you lose 3 in the powerplay and have to rebuild, it becomes tougher and tougher.
We have three games left. When your back is against the wall, your character gets truly tested. If we turn up with the right character and win three games in a row, no team will be better prepared than us to play the final as we played all the games like a final."
Suddenly we looked at the stats that they take a lot of wickets in the powerplay. If we do not run away with the game, as long as we are not losing wickets, it gives us the best chance to get to 140. Unfortunately if you lose 3 in the powerplay and have to rebuild, it becomes tougher and tougher.
We have three games left. When your back is against the wall, your character gets truly tested. If we turn up with the right character and win three games in a row, no team will be better prepared than us to play the final as we played all the games like a final."
Sam Curran (Desert Vipers captain): "No real jitters. It was a scratchy chase. Interesting game. But two points nonetheless. It was the kind of wicket where they needed to score 135-140. Batting first was the right idea. Dan Lawrence bowled really well. We play on the same game tomorrow. It is a nice schedule for us going forward. Nice breaks in between. But tomorrow we are up against a good team. We'll have to play well."
Player of the Match: David Payne
David Payne (Player of the Match): "I think my plans were slightly different. Normally you expect me to bring the ball back in to the right handers but today we analyzed their strengths and decided to bowl it away from the batters. We know where his strength lies and tried to combat that. Just tried to keep the balls away from his strong arc to prevent the shots in the leg side. Luckily it worked.
It takes a lot of pressure on me to bowl with a lot of world class bowlers in the team. But the strength lies in our team work, the communication between us. So far so good."
It takes a lot of pressure on me to bowl with a lot of world class bowlers in the team. But the strength lies in our team work, the communication between us. So far so good."
With this thumping win, Desert Vipers are now guaranteed a top-two finish. It will also mean that they will go into tomorrow's fixtures with their spirits high. They will face MI Emirates in the evening game tomorrow. Before that, Dubai Capitals will lock horns with Gulf Giants in the afternoon. And we will be there to call the action.
Do join us tomorrow. For now, it is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Saptak Sanyal and Yogesh Kumar waving goodbye. Keep following Crickxo for more cricketing action from around the world. See you soon.
Do join us tomorrow. For now, it is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Saptak Sanyal and Yogesh Kumar waving goodbye. Keep following Crickxo for more cricketing action from around the world. See you soon.