Waqar Salamkheil-led bowling attack powered leaders MI Emirates to a crushing eight-wicket victory over Sharjah Warriors in the 18th match of the ongoing ILT20 here on Friday.
Put into bat first, the Warriors’ batting unit unfolded on a measly 129 in 20 overs.
Sharjah Warriors had a relatively decent start to their innings, courtesy of their openers Niroshan Dickwella and Johnson Charles, who stitched a 34-run partnership.
The pair appeared in command until Dickwella was bamboozled by Trent Boult in the fifth over.
Coming out to bat at number three, Mark Deyal (7) put together a brief 21-run partnership for the second wicket before falling victim to Salamkheil in the seventh over.
The Warriors were then further reduced to 57/4 after Johnson Charles and Basil Hameed (0) fell in quick succession.
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Charles remained a notable contributor for the Warriors with a cautious 29. His 31-ball featured three boundaries and a six.
Following the slump, Sean Williams took the reigns of the Warriors’ batting expedition and waged a lone battle but kept losing partners at the other end.
He finally walked back to the dugout in the 17th over after top-scoring for the Warriors with a gutsy 35 off 25 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and a six.
For MI Emirates, Salamkheil returned brilliant figures of 3/18 while Akeal Hosein and Trent Boult bagged two wickets each.
In pursuit of a modest 130-run target, MI Emirates comfortably amassed 133/2 with 53 balls to spare.
Openers Kusal Perera and Muhammad Waseem provided a flying start to the run chase.
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The duo went after the Warriors’ bowlers and notched up 80 runs inside the batting powerplay.
Waseem dominated the stand with belligerent hitting until Muhammad Jawadullah dismissed him in the sixth over. He smashed four boundaries and three sixes on his 13-ball 37.
Perera soon followed his partner’s footsteps and departed in the ninth after top-scoring for MI Emirates with a 27-ball 47, featuring five boundaries and two sixes.
Skipper Nicholas Pooran then partnered strongly with Andre Fletcher for a match-winning stand and guided his side to a comfortable victory.
Pooran scored a quickfire 24 off just nine deliveries while Fletcher scored a cautious 22.
For the Warriors, Jawadullah and James Fuller could pick up a wicket.
The eight-wicket victory powered leaders MI Emirates to strengthen their grip at the top of the ILT20 standings with 10 points in seven matches while Sharjah Warriors remained fourth with six points in six matches.
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