Alsop steers Giants to thrilling win over Warriorz in ILT20 clash

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Tom Alsop played a brilliant knock of 85 runs after Blessing Muzarabani took three wickets as Gulf Giants pulled off a thrilling six-wicket victory against Sharjah Warriorz in an ILT20 match in Sharjah on Sunday.

Riding on Muzarabani’s three-wicket haul, the Giants restricted the Warriorz to 171/6 and achieved the target in 19.3 overs to move up the standings and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Alsop, who carried his bat through the innings, shared an unbeaten stand of 65 runs with Tom Curran, who played a perfect foil with a 17-ball 26.

Chasing, Giants got off to a blitzkrieg start as the opening pair of James Vince and Alsop added a quick-fire 42 runs for the first wicket in just three overs to set the tone for a successful chase.

Vince was dealing only in boundaries as he hit five of them in his 14-ball 24. Vince failed to execute a pull shot properly and holed out to Ethan D’Souza off Madhushanka in the deep midwicket.

Jordan Cox was dismissed cheaply as the onus of keeping the chase alive came on the shoulders of Alsop and Gerhard Erasmus. Both the batsmen knuckled down to rebuild the innings.

Alsop was waging the lone battle as he shared quite a few partnerships with Cox, Erasmus, and Shimron Hetmyer. But he was not getting support from the other end as the Giants kept on losing the wickets at regular intervals.

Erasmus was clean bowled by Southee, and Hetmyer became the second victim of Madhushanka. Alsop kept the Giants’ hopes alive with a fighting knock, but he consumed too many deliveries, which catapulted the asking run rate to 11.55.

He changed his gears in the 16th over and took 18 runs off Madhushanka with the help of two boundaries and a six to bring the equation down to 40 needed off the last four overs. Alsop reached his fifty in 44 balls and scored the last 35 runs off only 16 balls.

Earlier, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Johnson Charles gave a fiery start to the Sharjah Warriorz. Both the batsmen added a blitzkrieg 57 runs for the first wicket.

They exploited the condition and powerplay rule as the duo laid down a strong foundation for a big total. Sharjah were languishing at the bottom of the table and needed to win the match to remain in the contention for a playoff berth.

The top four teams will automatically advance to the playoffs. The top two teams will play in the first qualifier while the third and fourth-placed teams will meet the eliminator.

The winner of the first qualifier will book a berth in the final, while the runner-up will play the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier. The winner of the second qualifier will be the second team in the final.

The match was important for both the Gulf Giants and the Warriorz, as they were in the fifth and the sixth places, respectively, with four points each.

Giants opted to bowl first to avoid the problem of dew factor. At night, it becomes difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball properly. But the Warriorz batters had different plans; they wanted to post a big total and mount the pressure on the Giants.

Both the openers executed the plans well as the powerplay turned out to be the most productive for the Warriorz this season so far. Johnson was in a devastating mood as he started cutting loose from the beginning.

The Giants’ decision of opting to field seemed to be firing back as the Warriorz opening pair was unstoppable. Giants needed to break the partnership to thwart Warriorz from posting a total, which would be unachievable.

Worall broke the partnership to lead the Giants’ fightback with the dismissal of Charles, who smashed a 19-ball 30. The dismissal of Charles opened the floodgates for the Giants’ bowlers.

After the departure of Charles, the Warriorz started losing the wickets in quick succession. Their batsmen failed to capitalize on the opening partnership and threw away their wickets by playing some reckless shots.

Muzarabani got rid of Kohler-Cadmore before Adair rattled the stumps of Avishka Fernando to reduce Warriorz to 73/3 from 57/0. Three wickets within a span of 18 runs pushed the Warriorz on the back foot.

The pair of Jason Roy and Tim Seifert was again on the pitch with the responsibility of building the innings. They added 27 runs for the fourth wicket to take the score to 100 before Drakes sent back Seifert to pick up his first scalp.

Roy continued the repair work and shared a partnership of 46 runs with Ethan D’Souza as the Warriorz looked set to breach the 180-run mark. But Muzarabani got rid of D’Souza and Roy in the same over to check the flow of runs and complete his three-wicket haul.

Ashton Agar played a cameo of 13-ball 23, studded with two sixes and one four to propel the score to 171/6.

In another match, fans were treated to a thrilling run-fest at the Zayed Cricket Stadium as the Dubai Capitals pulled off a stunning eight-wicket victory over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.

Chasing a daunting 204, the Capitals were powered by match-winning performances from Shai Hope and Gulbadin Naib in a sensational 135-run partnership that laid the foundation for the largest run chase in the league's history. Hope’s composed half-century and Naib’s explosive 80 were pivotal in the Capitals’ triumph.