Desert Vipers cruise past Sharjah Warriorz with four-wicket win to strengthen table-top push

Dubai, Dec 21 (PTI) Desert Vipers continued their strong run in the ILT20 with a four-wicket victory over Sharjah Warriorz which consolidated their top spot in the points table.

With 14 points in eight matches, the Vipers are guaranteed a spot in the top two.

David Payne's disciplined bowling performance bundled the Warriorz for a modest total of 90 runs.

With the bat, Sam Curran’s 37 off 31 with five fours, ensured a comfortable run chase for the Vipers with 37 balls to spare.

Chasing a meagre target, the Vipers made a steady start despite losing early wickets. But Curran countered with a couple of boundaries to keep the run rate in check.

He anchored the innings in the middle overs, rotating the strike efficiently with Dan Lawrence (14 off 14).

Despite tidy spells from Taskin Ahmed, Adil Rashid and Dwaine Pretorius, the Warriorz were unable to apply sustained pressure as the Vipers calmly reached their target.

Earlier in the match, David Payne struck twice in the powerplay to remove Johnson Charles (3 off 9) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (9 off 11), conceding just nine runs in three overs.

Khuzaima Tanveer and Naseem Shah maintained pressure from the other end to keep the Warriorz in check as they crawled to 28/2 in six overs.

The Warriorz never found momentum through the middle overs as regular wickets kept falling.

Despite Tom Abell batting with composure, support around him was minimal. The innings unravelled rapidly at the death. Khuzaima Tanveer struck twice in the 15th over, removing Dinesh Karthik (3 off 5) and Dwaine Pretorius (1 off 3), before Naseem Shah finished things off with a decisive burst in the 18th, dismissing Adil Rashid (1 off 6) and Taskin Ahmed (2 off 4). PTI APA AM APA AM AM