IlT20 Match 15 Review: Zaman knock, Amir spell propel Desert Vipers to commanding 10-wicket win over Sharjah Warriorz

The Desert Vipers got back to winning ways at Season 3 of the ILT20 as they put up a scintillating performance to outclass the Sharjah Warriorz, and clinch a massive 10-wicket victory at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday. The Desert Vipers rode on Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 71 and Mohammad Amir’s four-wicket haul to cruise to an emphatic win that consolidated their position atop the standings.

The Desert Vipers wasted no time in their chase as Alex Hales got them off to a flyer with a flurry of boundaries. He clobbered Tim Southee for three fours and then smashed Adam Milne for a maximum as the side raced to 20/0 inside the first two overs. Zaman joined in on the action with some clean hitting as he went after Bangladeshi pacer Junaid Siddique in his first over. He went across the stump and cut him away for a boundary, and then struck a beautiful pull shot for four more.

Earlier, the Desert Vipers won the toss and chose to bowl. That proved to be a brilliant decision, as Amir weaved his magic with the new ball. Amir finished with an impressive 4/24 as Sharjah Warriorz were bundled out for 91 in 19.1 overs.

Player of the match, Mohammad Amir said: “As a new-ball bowler, you try to swing the ball. I believe you have to bowl according to the wicket and hit the right areas. You need to adapt as quickly as you can to conditions, as a bowler. I saw the movie Pushpa 2 last week and the hero did that, so I was doing the same [on his celebration]. We have got a great bowling unit.”

Didn't have enough runs on the board: JP Duminy

"Well the obvious reason why we lost is not having enough runs on the board, but I think if I had to sum it up it was certainly we were out-skilled. If you think about the conditions, the Vipers certainly read the conditions really well and executed their skill from a bowling point of view. Unfortunately, we didn't have any answers," Warriorz head coach JP Duminy said.

"Most games in T20 cricket, 90 runs is hardly ever going to be enough. The nature of the wicket, we still thought we were in the game, but unfortunately we were honest with ourselves. Even with bowling in unfortunately we mis-executed and that's something we have to address as a team. The benefit that we have is that we're only halfway in the tournament and yes, two out of five wins. We still certainly have an opportunity in this tournament, and hopefully we can find a way to gain some momentum and confidence this coming weekend," Duminy added.