Shaheen, Hasaranga lead Desert Vipers to first win in ILT20 2024

DUBAI: Wanindu Hasaranga backed Shaheen Shah Afridi’s 3/22 with a quickfire 42 and powered Desert Vipers to their maiden victory in the ongoing ILT20 2024.

The star-studded side registered a comfortable six-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in the seventh match.

Put into bat first, the Giants struggled against the ruthless bowling attack of the Vipers and put up a modest total of 160/6 on the board.

The Giants had a dismal start to their innings as Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi struck in quick successions to leave them reeling at 7/2 in 2.2 overs.

Following the slump, Chris Lynn and Jordan Cox anchored the innings with a counterattacking 89-run partnership.

Lynn dominated the stand by dominating the Vipers’ bowlers and brought up his half-century in the process.

The right-handed batter, however, failed to stretch his gutsy knock and fell victim to Tymal Mills in the 13th over.

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He top-scored for the Giants with a 42-ball 63 which featured seven boundaries and three sixes.

Shimron (11) Hetmyer joined Cox for a brief 26-run stand before both perished in successive overs as the Giants slipped further to 124/5 in 16.2 overs.

Cox remained a notable run-getter for the Giants with a cautious 32. His 29-ball knock included one boundary and a six.

Chris Jordan added brisk 14 runs at the death, majorly dominated by Shaheen, who returned for his second spell to add two more to his wickets tally.

Shaheen Afridi led the bowling attack for the Vipers with 3/22, while Mohammad Amir, Tymal Mills and Hasaranga made one scalp each.

In return, the Vipers chased down the 161-run target for the loss of just four wickets and eight balls to spare.

The Vipers had a contrasting start to their innings as they lost their captain Colin Munro (6) in the third over with just 14 runs on the board.

His partner Alex Hales also failed to impress and fell in the sixth over after a scratchy 21 off 20 deliveries.

Coming out to bat at number four, Hasaranga soon turned the game on its head with belligerent hitting.

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The all-rounder smashed four boundaries and two sixes on his way to top score for the Vipers with a 19-ball 42.

He put together an important partnership with Adam Hose before falling victim to Dominik Drakes in the 13th over.

Hose was involved in yet another crucial partnership for the Vipers when he put together 51 runs for the fifth wicket with Azam Khan before finally walking back to the dugout in the 16th over.

He scored an anchoring 39 off 35 deliveries with the help of four boundaries.

Meanwhile, Azam, alongside Sherfane Rutherford made sure that there were no further hiccups in the pursuit and powered the Vipers over the line in the penultimate over.

The Pakistan international remained unbeaten with a 14-ball 26 which included three boundaries and a six.

Drakes and Richard Gleeson bagged two wickets each for the Giants while the rest went wicketless.

The six-wicket victory lifted Desert Vipers to the fourth in ILT20 standings, behind Gulf Giants, with two points in as many matches.

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