ILT20 | Twitter reacts to Shaheen’s splendid spell going in vain as Desert Vipers thrash Gulf Giants in Dubai

ILT20 | Twitter reacts to Shaheen’s splendid spell going in vain as Desert Vipers thrash Gulf Giants in Dubai

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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After suffering losses in their respective previous games, last season's finalists locked horns at the Dubai International Stadium. Pakistan speedster Shaheen Afridi’s 3/22 couldn't take the defending champions Gulf Giants across the line as they suffered a defeat to Desert Vipers by six wickets.

‌Desert Viper’s skipper Colin Munro’s decision to bowl first worked wonders as the team scalped Giants' openers Jamie Smith and James Vince early on, courtesy of Mohamed Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s splendid opening with the ball. Dubai’s green pitch favoured the Pak pace duo as the Giants managed just 35/2 in the powerplay. Wanindu Hasaranga and Shadab Khan further restricted Giants to 72/2 in 10 overs, albeit Chris Lynn and Jordan Cox stabilized the innings with a partnership of 89 runs. However, after the platform was set, the batters to follow couldn't provide much of a flourish at the end. Amir and Shaheen finished well with just 15 coming off the last two overs and Chris Jordan and Usman Khan’s 22-run partnership in the lower order proved pivotal in the Giants putting up a decent total of 160/6. 

After Munro’s early departure in the second over, the Vipers' batting unit seemed shaky as they struggled to a score of just 24/1 at the end of the powerplay, of which Alex Hales had contributed 21 runs. However, the Vipers showcased real grit thereafter with Adam Hose and Hasaranga’s exemplary partnership of 57 runs powering the innings to 98/3 in 13 overs. Azam Khan's commanding approach gelled well with Hose and fuelled the Viper's batting to a comfortable six-wicket win.

 The best

Nothing

True

Beautifull Innings!

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Excellent

Champions

He aced it!

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