Matheesha Pathirana was in the zone and shone when it really mattered as his impressive 3-wicket haul helped Sharjah Warriorz hold off second placed Gulf Giants by 11 runs to win their second game in a row and in as many days. Matheesha Pathirana looked determined and in the zone when it mattered for his side. Put into bat first, Sharjah Warriorz posted a competitive 174/6 with Tom Abell starring with 68 off 41 balls and others contributing around him.
In the second innings, Sharjah Warriorz rode on 3 wicket hauls from Matheesha Pathirana and Wasim Akram to keep the second placed Gulf Giants to 163/9 despite a couple of 40s from Moeen Ali and Azmatullah Omarzai as Impact Player with Gurbaz also getting a cameo at the top. Sharjah stays in 5th place with 4 points level on points with MI Emirates who are in 4th place while Gulf Giants too stay in 2nd place despite the loss.
Tom Abell’s excellent half-century helps Sharjah Warriorz post a competitive 174/6.Â
Put into bat first in Sharjah, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Johnson Charles came out to open for Sharjah Warriorz while Chris Wood had ball in hand for Gulf Giants. Kohler-Cadmore started his innings with a maximum off Wood to get off the mark. But the opening partnership did not last long as Kohler-Cadmore fell for 6 off 7 balls with a maximum to his name to debutant Fred Klaassen with the score reading 14 at this stage. Tom Abell came out to bat next.
Abell was off the blocks quickly making quick runs while Charles played second fiddle in the second wicket partnership. The duo added 34 runs in 20 balls with Abell scoring most of them. But Sharjah lost another in the powerplay as Charles fell for 12 off 12 balls with 2 fours in his name to Matthew Forde. James Rew the keeper batter came out to bat inside the powerplay. The Warriorz were decently placed at 54/2 in 6 overs at the end of the powerplay.
Abell and Rew then started to build a stand and navigated through the majority of the middle phase of the innings. Both the batters complimented each other well with Abell being the aggressor at times but Rew was not left far behind as the duo laid the platform for a competitive total. The duo in their own pace completed a nice 50-run stand and went further on added 71 runs off 53 balls at a fair clip with Abell scoring a half-century as well.
In the 15th over, the partnership was broken and Abell’s innings was cut short on 68 off 41 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name as Aayan Afzal Khan got his man and the breakthrough for his team. Captain Sikandar Raza came out to bat next. Rew took over and became the senior and set batter and added 18 runs with Raza with him dominating the partnership before his innings was cut short on 39 off 33 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name to Chris Wood.
Dwaine Pretorius came out to bat to join Raza in the middle and he made his intentions clear with his stroke-play. The duo added a quickfire 17 runs with Pretorius scoring bulk of the scoring while Raza dealt more in singles. With the score at 154 in 18 overs, Raza’s innings was cut short on 9 off 9 balls with a boundary to his name as he fell to Chris Wood yet again. Ethan Carl D’Souza came in with 11 balls left in the innings.
Pretorius was at his imperious best while Ethan gave him support and strike and got a boundary to his name as well. The duo added 20 off the last 11 balls before Pretorius was run out off the last ball of the innings for a quickfire 28 off 13 balls striking over 200 as he hit 3 fours and a maximum to his name. Ethan remained unbeaten on 8 off 5 balls with a boundary to his name. Sharjah Warriorz finished with 174/6 in 20 overs with 4 extras given by the fielding side.
Chris Wood was the pick of the bowlers for Gulf Giants with figures of 2/26 in 4 overs. Matthew Forde finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Fred Klaassen finished with 1/37 in 3 overs. Aayan Afzal Khan finished with 1/22 in 3 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 0/15 in 2 overs. Moeen Ali finished with 0/33 in 4 overs. This all meant that Gulf Giants needed 175 runs to win off 20 overs.
Matheesha Pathirana & Wasim Akram’s 3-wicket hauls helps Sharjah Warriorz get over the line.Â
Chasing 175 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out to bat for Gulf Giants while Taskin Ahmed had ball in hand for Sharjah Warriorz. The Giants got off to a shaky start as the form player Nissanka was dismissed for 3 off 4 balls to Wasim Akram in the second over when the score was only 11. Captain James Vince came out to bat next.
Gurbaz was quickly off the blocks and batted well from the get go as he scored the bulk of the runs initially. The duo added 12 runs more to the score with Gurbaz scoring all of them before Taskin got rid of captain Vince for a duck off 6 balls. Kyle Mayers came out to bat next. Once again, Gurbaz alongside Mayers added 15 more to the tally before Mayers was gone for a silver duck to Wasim Akram. The Giants were 38/3 in 4 overs.
Moeen Ali came out to bat next. Soon, Gurbaz who looked good out there for his 30 perished in the next over as he was cleaned up by Matheesha Pathirana for 30 off 15 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to leave the Giants reeling now at 38/4 in 4.3 overs. Impact Player Azmatullah Omarzai came out to join Ali at the crease.
Gulf Giants were in need of a partnership and they exactly got that from Moeen and Omarzai. The duo took the powerplay score to 44/4 in 6 overs. Then they aced the middle overs with Omarzai making the big impact and being the aggressor while Moeen decided to hold the innings together. The duo who got together after 4.3 overs hung around till the 15th over adding valuable runs for their side. They put on 79 runs off 60 balls to bring the side back on track with Omarzai dominating the partnership.
But in the 15th over, Omarzai’s innings was cut short on 41 off 26 balls with one four and 3 sixes to his name as Wasim Akram had his man. Matthew Forde came out to bat at the score of 117/5 in 14.3 overs as we entered the last phase of the innings with Gulf Giants having work to do.
Wickets started to fall again at the end of the Moeen-Omarzai stand as Forde fell for 7 off 5 balls with one four to his name to Pathirana as the score was now 124. Asif Khan came out to bat next. Moeen and Asif added 11 more to the score but Asif who is known as the finisher from UAE did not last long as he fell for 5 off 4 balls with one four to his name to Dwaine Pretorius. Liam Dawson came out to bat next to join Moeen Ali.
The duo of Moeen and Dawson could add 8 more to the score as at the completion of the 18th over, Moeen fell for 45 off 41 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name as Pathirana got the big fish and literally ended the contest with this wicket. Aayan Afzal Khan came out to bat next with Gulf Giants needing still 32 off 12 balls.
Afzal Khan played some shots while Dawson failed to get the ball away to the boundary or maximum. Sharjah kept things tight and tightened the screws as the requirement reached beyond the Giants. Dwaine Pretorius bowling the final over of the innings got rid of Dawson for 6 off 9 balls. Fred Klaassen on debut walked out to bat next with 4 balls left and 23 still needed.
Klaassen managed to get 5 off 3 balls while Aayan Afzal Khan hit the last ball of the match off Pretorius for a maximum as the Giants finished with 163/9 in 20 overs. Afzal Khan was unbeaten on 13 off 5 balls with one four and one six to his name while Klaassen was with him on 5* off 3 balls. 8 extras given by the fielding side.
Impact Player Matheesha Pathirana made instant impact as he was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/19 in 4 overs. Wasim Akram supported him well with 3/34 in 4 overs. Dwaine Pretorius chipped in with 2/35 in 4 overs. Taskin Ahmed finished with 1/34 in 4 overs. Adil Rashid finished with 0/27 in 3 overs. Sikandar Raza bowled an over for 14 runs. So, Sharjah Warriorz won the contest by 11 runs to win 2 games in a row in 2 days. Matheesha Pathirana was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
Match 17 of ILT20 2025 takes us back to Abu Dhabi for what is seen as a David vs Goliath battle. It is Abu Dhabi Knight Riders up against Desert Vipers live from Abu Dhabi on 16th December, 2025 at 8 PM IST onwards. The Knight Riders are at the bottom of the points table with one win from 5 games while Desert Vipers are on a roll with 6 wins out of 6 games, unbeaten and already through to the playoffs.
Let’s see which team comes out on top in this fixture. It is T20 cricket and anybody can beat anyone on a given day.
Also Read:Â ILT20 2025: Sharjah Warriorz Notch Up Their 1st Win To Climb To 5th In Points Table