Gulf Giants Beat Sharjah Warriors In ILT20 Season 2’s Opening Match
Gulf Giants emerged victorious in a thrilling encounter against Sharjah Warriors at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Defending Champions, Gulf Giants’ players exhibited exceptional skill and determination, securing a win by 31 runs in what proved to be a memorable contest.
After winning the toss, Sharjah Warriors chose to field first, wherein skipper James Vince led the team from the front playing the anchor role with 45 runs off 35 balls. However, the lightening performance from Jamie Smith set the tone for the season for Gulf Giants, who scored a quick-hand 42 runs off just 18 balls.
Usman Khan hit a quick 32 runs off 18 balls with four boundaries and a six while Jordan Cox chipped in with 32 off 22 balls with two boundaries and two sixes.
Giants seemed poised to reach a formidable total, possibly exceeding 225 runs, but the resilient bowling efforts of Theekshana and the impactful performance by Chris Woakes, who claimed two crucial wickets for 35 runs, prevented them from reaching that milestone.
Jamie Smith, who enthralled the crowd with some big hits, said: “It was nice to open the tournament and get runs with the bat. Though the ball kept a bit low we did really well to post such a score through some cameos from our batters. In T20 you want to go out, enjoy and try to entertain.”
At the end of first innings, Sharjah Warriors were set a formidable total of 199 runs to chase in 20 overs.
Off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana emerged as the hero for the Warriors, exhibiting exceptional bowling prowess. He notched up figures of 4 for 15, employing a combination of carrom ball deliveries and precise off-cutters. His brilliant performance dismantled the opposition, providing the breakthrough that the Warriors needed.
Sharjah Warriors, in their chase, initially displayed confidence with an opening partnership of 93 runs in 10.3 overs between Martin Guptill and Johnson Charles. However, the Giants bounced back when Jamie Overton dismissed Guptill for 40 and subsequently removed Charles for 57. The turning point came with Chris Jordan's double breakthrough in the 17th over, seizing the opportunity created by the earlier partnerships.
DP World ILT20, the world’s second most-watched T20 event is telecasted LIVE on ZEE’s 10 most-widely distributed and viewed linear TV channels, including &Pictures, &Pictures HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Zest, Zee Ganga, Zee Cinemalu HD, &Flix, &Flix HD, and Zee Zest HD. Additionally, the event will be available on one of India’s leading OTT platforms, ZEE5.
Brief scores:
Gulf Giants beat Sharjah Warriors by 31 runs
Gulf Giants 198 for 7 in 20 overs (James Vince 45, Jamie Smith 42, Jordan Cox 32, Usman Khan 32, Maheesh Theekshana 4 for 15, Chris Woakes 2 for 35)
Sharjah Warriors 167 for 7 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 57, Martin Guptill 40, Chris Woakes 22*, Jamie Overton 3 for 29, Chris Jordan 2 for 35)
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Player of the Match: Jamie Overton