Twitter Reactions: Wanindu Hasaranga, Luke Wood help Desert Vipers get back to winning ways

Sharjah Warriors and Desert Vipers locked horns in the 23^rd match of the International League T20 (ILT20) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Thanks to brilliant spells by Wanindu Hasaranga and Luke Wood, the Colin Munro-led Desert Vipers got back to winning ways after suffering a defeat in their previous game as they won by a margin of 22 runs.

Desert Vipers won the toss and elected to bat first. They made three changes to their side keeping in mind the workload of the players, but their decision did not quite work in their favor as they lost Alex Hales’ wicket early, in the fourth over as Muhammad Jawadullah handed Sharjah Warriors an early breakthrough. The Vipers managed to put up 37 runs in the powerplay, thanks to the sensible innings by opening batter Rohan Mustafa.

Colin Munro, who joined him after Hales’ exit took time to get going, but as soon as he found the right momentum, Mohammad Nabi sent him back to the pavilion. Noor Ahmad handed the Warriors the crucial wicket of Mustafa as the vipers finished at 59/3 after 10 overs. The middle-order batters took time to get going, but combined efforts from them, followed by a 23-ball 34-run unbeaten knock from Benny Howell helped the Vipers finish at a decent 148/6.

Bowlers shine for Desert Vipers

Sharjah Warriors’ start to the chase was disastrous. Though Tom Kohler-Cadmore managed to score 14 runs in the first over, Luke Wood got the better of him and dismissed him in the third over before Gus Atinkson dismissed the other opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Adam Hose and Marcus Stoinis then stabilized the innings, but Wanindu Hasaranga picked up three wickets, one each in the final three overs of his spell and dismissed the duo as well as Mohammad Nabi and finished with 3/13.

Paul Walter then punished the opposition bowlers, and Noor Ahmad joined him but the fireworks soon came to an end as Luke Wood sent the two packing. The Vipers bowlers, especially Wanindu Hasaranga and Luke Wood were at their best as both finished with a three-wicket haul in their four-over spell. While Hasaranga maintained an economy rate of just 3.25, Wood recorded 5.00 and the duo helped Desert Vipers restrict Sharjah Warriors to 126/8 and win the game by 22 runs.

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