ILT20 | Twitter reacts to Shaheen’s splendid cameo as Desert Vipers clinch cliffhanger against MI Emirates

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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In a thrilling game of cricket, Desert Vipers beat table toppers MI Emirates by two wickets in Dubai. Chasing a target of 150 runs, Desert Vipers struggled initially but got back miraculously in the death overs with Shaheen Shah Afridi keeping his calm and taking his side to victory side.

‌Opting to field first, the Desert Vipers struck early as Mohammed Amir found the outside edge of in-form Kusal Perera in the first over. Muhammad Waseem and Andre Fletcher added brisk 33 runs for the second wicket before they followed one another to the pavilion as the pace variations from Luke Wood were too hot to handle inside the powerplay. Despite piling 52 runs inside the field restrictions, the middle order struggled to go with the flow as the Sri Lankan pair of Matheesha Pathirana and Wanindu Hasarana checked Nicholas Pooran and Ambati Rayudu from acceleration. Eventually, the slinky pacer outdid the Caribbean southpaw in the eighth over, and surprisingly Akeal Hosein was promoted up the order ahead of Tim David to stabilise the ship. The left and right-handed duo eased off the pressure and kept the scoreboard ticking by adding 49 runs to the tally before the all-rounder was caught and bowled by Pathirana at the cusp of the 15th over breaking the crucial 49-run partnership. However, in the death overs, the MI Emirates batting collapsed and the MI Emirates ended up scoring 149/9 in 20 overs.

Things went down haywire for the Desert Vipers as openers Rohan Mustafa and Alex Hales couldn't produce any magic with the bat. The Vipers were 36/4 at the end of the powerplay after losing wickets in quick wickets of skipper Colin Munro and Wanindu Hasaranga. A disciplined MI Emirates bowling led to a middle-order collapse for the Vipers. Emirates bowlers Fazhalhaq Farooqi and Muhammed Rohid Khan were instrumental in picking the important wickets of Munro and Adam Hose with the scorecard at 62/5 at the end of the 9th over. However, Hasaranga and Pak star Azam Khan showed utmost compare and handled the middle order with a 34-run partnership. A few quick partnerships in the lower order couldn't help the Vipers accelerate further. However, things took a different in the death overs as Shaheen Shah Afridi showed utmost grit and took his side to cross the finishing line in the last over. With three runs required off the last ball, Afridi smacked the white cherry with a thick outside edge that raced away to the right of the square third-man area, giving Afridi the perfect opportunity to take three runs and beat the MI Emirates by 2 wickets. 

What a finish!



What a match!

The eagle!

The best

Superb finish!

Goat stuff!

Just wow!

Clutch moment

Yess!

He wins it!

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