ILT20: Desert Vipers pull through to eliminate Sharjah Warriorz after five-wicket win

Sharjah [UAE], December 27 (ANI): Desert Vipers faced a late resistance but pulled through to secure a five-wicket win over the Sharjah Warriorz at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday in the International League T20 (ILT20)
The result wiped out the Warriorz' playoff hopes, while the Vipers became the first team in the ILT20 to win eight matches in the group stage.
Post this result, either Abu Dhabi Knight Riders or the Gulf Giants will complete the playoff line-up alongside Desert Vipers, MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals, with the two sides meeting on Sunday, 28 December, in the final league-stage fixture. Meanwhile, the winner of Saturday's clash between MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals (December 27) will secure a top-two finish, as per a press release from ILT20.
Naseem Shah's three wickets restricted the Warriorz to 140/7, before Max Holden's unbeaten 66 runs in 46 balls, including nine fours and a six took the Vipers all the way. Harmeet Singh's three wickets in the middle overs briefly piled some pressure but Holden was ably supported by Sam Curran's 25 runs in 28 balls, and Hasan Nawaz's 25 runs in 14 balls. For the Warriorz, Johnson Charles' 43 runs in 37 balls (with five fours and two sixes) was the highest score.
In the second innings, Sikandar Raza and Richard Ngarava put the Warriorz on top initially, keeping the Vipers to just 28/2 after six overs. Raza struck in the third over to remove Fakhar Zaman (6 off 9), while Ngarava followed up by dismissing Andries Gous (1 off 4) to leave the chase wobbling early. Runs were hard to come by as Sam Curran and Max Holden were kept quiet till the end of the powerplay.
Curran and Holden began to claw their way back into the chase through a steady partnership of 64 runs in 53 balls. The pair rotated strike smartly against Adil Rashid before Harmeet Singh broke the stand in the 12th over after he trapped Curran LBW.
Harmeet gave the Vipers a late scare with wickets in the 14th and 16th overs. Dan Lawrence (9 off 7) was the first to fall, before Jason Roy (4 off 9) was caught and bowled by the USA spinner. However, Nawaz then joined Holden in the middle and together, the duo's unbeaten 47-run stand in 26 balls took the side home.
Earlier, David Payne and Khuzaima Tanveer gave the Warriorz an early jolt, reducing them to 6/2 after two overs. Payne trapped Monank Patel (4 off 2) LBW in the first over, while Tom Abell (0 off 2) fell in the second to Tanveer. Tom Kohler-Cadmore (20 off 22) counter-attacked to hit Naseem Shah for 19 runs in the fifth over, taking the Warriorz to 45/2 inside the powerplay.
Opener Johnson Charles, who had started cautiously, hammered Qais Ahmad for two sixes in the eighth over to break the shackles. He put on 61 runs with Kohler-Cadmore in 45 deliveries until Naseem Shah castled the latter in the tenth over. Two overs later, Qais Ahmad joined the party with a double blow. First, he sent Charles packing, and then skipper Sikandar Raza was bowled for a golden duck to leave the Warriorz at 79/5.
James Rew (22 off 20) and Ryan Burl (21* off 25) tried to revive the batting effort but were unable to find the boundaries. Naseem Shah closed out the first innings with the wickets of Rew and Harmeet Singh (11 off 8) in the 18th and 20th overs respectively, restricting the Warriorz to 140/7.
Desert Vipers' skipper Sam Curran said, "It was really pleasing to get a win heading into the Qualifier. We adjusted to the conditions very well. Max played a superb innings, and Hasan finished it off nicely with some big strikes at the end. It was also good for a few batters to spend time in the middle. We've had a fantastic season overall, winning eight out of ten matches."
Sharjah Warriorz skipper Sikandar Raza said, "Pretty much everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong this season. Had we played those key moments slightly better in few of our games, we would have qualified already. On these wickets, 150 was a competitive total, and we rarely got there, which is the most painful part. The positives are with the bowling unit -- Harmeet has been excellent since joining, Adil has bowled really well, and overall the bowlers consistently kept us in the game."
Brief Scores
Desert Vipers beat Sharjah Warriorz by five wickets
Sharjah Warriorz 140/7 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 43, James Rew 22, Ryan Burl 21 not out, Naseem Shah 3 for 35, Qais Ahmad 2 for 30)
Desert Vipers 144/5 in 19.3 overs (Max Holden 66 not out, Hasan Nawaz 25 not out, Sam Curran 25, Harmeet Singh 3 for 29, Sikandar Raza 1 for 27)
Player of the match: Max Holden. (ANI)