Hasaranga and Shaheen excel as resilient Vipers bounce back to sting Giants at DP World ILT20

Gulf Today, Mohammad Abdullah

Wanindu Hasaranga smashed a blitzkrieg 19-ball 42 after Pakistan T20 captain Shaheen Shah Afridi took three wickets as Desert Vipers defeated Gulf Giants by six wickets in their DP World ILT20 match on Wednesday.

Shaheen and Amir bowled splendidly well to help Vipers restrict Giants to 160/6 before Hasaranga’s blitz steered them to victory for the loss of four wickets in 18.4 overs.

In their pursuit of 160, Vipers were off to a stable but slow start. Munro was the first man to go when Gleeson had him caught by Jordan Cox. Alex Hales and Adam Hose shared a 27-run stand for the second wicket before Drakes got rid of the former. They had consumed too many deliveries as the asking rate spiralled drastically. Hales scored a sedated 21 in 20 balls.

The onus of keeping the chase alive came on Wanindu Hasaranga and Hose. Hasaranga made his intent clear from the beginning, taking 13 runs off the ninth over bowled by Ayaan Afzal Khan.

He spurred the run rate with some powerful hitting all over the ground. In the next over, Hasaranga collected another 15 runs off Jordan with the help of a boundary and a six, combined with singles and doubles.

Hose on the other end was playing a perfect foil to Hasaranga. Both the batsmen shared a 57-run partnership for the third wicket in 6 overs to keep the Vipers in hunt. Hasaranaga smashed four fours and two sixes in his 19-ball 42.

After the dismissal of Hasaranga, Hose and Azam Khan added another 41 runs for the fourth wicket to take the match as deep as possible.

Sherfane Rutherford and Azam made sure Vipers did not lose any more wickets and took them past the target with an unbeaten stand of 23 runs.

Earlier, Vipers investment into Pakistan pacers Amir and Shaheen seemed to have started yielding dividends. The deal between the players and the Vipers looked promising and fruitful.

Both Amir and Shaheen were clinical with the ball and gave Vipers a dream start. Amir had James Vince caught by Munro to hand Vipers their first breakthrough.

Two balls later, Shaheen rattled the stumps of Jamie Smith to push Giants on the backfoot. With just seven runs on the board, both the openers were back in the pavilion.

They hit the deck hard and got the ball to move on either side as the Vipers maintained their dominance. Both the pacers had choked the flow of runs as Vipers were 14/2 after the end of four overs.

But after an impressive start, Vipers got a little off the track and failed to capitalise on the start which Shaheen and Amir gave. Vipers failed to keep the momentum going and spurned a chance to thwart Giants to an under par score.

After a stuttering start, Giants staged a miraculous comeback. After losing two quick wickets they needed a big partnership. Chris Lynn and Jordan Cox knuckled down in a rescue act.

In the fifth over, Lynn flexed his muscles and collected 14 runs off Mills with the help of two boundaries and one six. It took the pressure off the Giants and then there was no looking back.

Both the batsmen played sensibly and kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and couples, hitting occasional boundaries. Lynn took 14 runs off Shadab Khan in the ninth over, hitting a six and a four. Looking for a breakthrough, Munro brought Amir back on the attack in the 11th over. But Amir failed to recreate the same magic as Lynn and Cox had managed to remove the pressure.

Lynn was at his brutal best as he smashed three fours to punish Amir in his second spell, collecting 16 runs off the over to bring up his fifty in just 34 balls and take the score to 88/2 in 11 overs from 7/2 in four overs.

Both the batsmen added 89 runs for the third wicket in just nine overs, as the giants looked set for a big fighting total.  Mills broke the partnership to bring respite to the Vipers camp.