Desert Vipers cruise to six-wicket win over Sharjah Warriors

The Desert Vipers sailed to a comfortable six-wicket win over the Sharjah Warriors in the 30th and final league match of the DP World ILT20 season 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium after rain reduced it to an 18-over contest.

A fine bowling display from Vipers’ Nathan Sowter (3 for 21) and Matheesha Pathirana (3 for 28), well backed by Sam Curran (2 for 29), restricted Warriors to 121 for 9 in 18 overs. V

ipers then raced to the target in 12.5 overs with openers Phil Salt (30) and Alex Hales putting on a 50-run partnership in 23 balls, followed by a 49-run partnership between skipper Colin Munro (27) and Dinesh Chandimal (24n.o) for the fourth wicket.

This victory helped the Vipers push the Warriors to the bottom of the table and to take the fifth slot.

Player of the Match, Sowter, revealed how he picked those wickets. “The ball was staying a bit low, so I was trying to land it on a length and keep it on the stumps. I just backed my ability to do it again and again, and tonight I got the rewards.”

Vipers skipper Colin Munro was candid in his comment. “To be brutally honest, we haven't played good enough cricket throughout the tournament. One person who stuck up their hand with the bat was Alex Hales. We managed to adapt to the conditions well. Salt has played in two games and has performed admirably for us, and Alex Hales is one of the best openers in the world.”

Warriors’ skipper Kohler-Cadmore hoped that his team would make a strong comeback and said: “We have experienced highs and lows, so it's somewhat expected for us to be where we are. We're trying to take away positives from this, and hopefully, the guys will make a strong comeback next year and perform well.”

Final scores:
Sharjah Warriors 121 for 9 in 18 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 20, Luke Wells 31, Sean Williams 23, Sam Curran 2 for 29, Nathan Sowter 3 for 21, Matheesha Pathirana 3 for 28)
Desert Vipers 123 for 4 in 12.5 overs (Phil Salt 30, Alex Hales 21, Colin Munro 27, Dinesh Chandimal 24n.o, Junaid Siddique 2 for 16)