Azam Khan made the fastest half-century in ILT20 history, off just 18 balls, to lead the Desert Vipers to a six-wicket victory over the Gulf Giants in the 19th match of season 2 at Dubai International Stadium. Azam Khan was in the beast mode against the mighty Gulf Giants.
With this win, the Vipers were able to move up to the third position in the points table, while the Giants, the reigning champions, fell to the bottom of the points table.
Pitch Report and Toss Update
The surface was nicely covered with grass; however, it’s dead grass. There would be some swinging of the new ball, but as it was a day match, dew shouldn’t matter. Seven matches in the ILT20 2024 have taken place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium thus far.
Teams batting second have won all seven of their games. Considering the conditions and past outcomes, the Desert Vipers won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Desert Vipers’ bowlers restricted the Giants batters from getting a good start
Vipers made the decision to bowl after winning the toss. James Vince, the opener and captain of the Gulf Giants, edged to wicketkeeper Azam Khan after falling to the fifth ball of the initial over and the first one he faced from Mohammad Amir.
By the seventh over, Jamie Smith and the reliable Lynn had taken the score to 46 when Matheesha Pathirana, using a bouncer, forced Smith to top edge his pull to Hasaranga at midwicket for 15. After that, Hasaranga struck with the ball, forcing Lynn to sweep into Pathirana’s hands for 31.
Only 58 for 3 was displayed on the scoreboard at the halfway point. Usman Khan, who went for a slog sweep, top-edged Rohan Mustafa at mid-wicket off Hasaranga for just ten runs to bring down the fourth wicket at 65.
PC: ESPNcricinfo
Shimron Hetmyer’s power hitting helped the Giants to reach a competitive score
Cox managed to keep the score going with a knock of 26, but Amir caught up to him. With their score still below 100 runs, half the team was back in the dugout. In the sixteenth over, Erasmus struck Pathirana for thirteen runs but got bowled cleanly by a precise yorker for eighteen runs on the final delivery of that over.
With some massive hits, Hetmyer scored 40 (23), increasing the score to 10 runs above the 150-run mark. The Gulf Giants reached 160 for 7 in 20 overs, courtesy of 31 from Chris Lynn, 26 from Jordan Cox, and a quick 40 from Shimron Hetmyer off 23 balls that included five boundaries and one six.
For the Desert Vipers, Wanindu Hasaranga was miserly as ever, with figures of 2 for 15 from his 4 overs. Mohammad Amir took 3 wickets, whereas Matheesha Pathirana got a couple of wickets, but they were a touch expensive.
PC: ESPNcricinfo
The Vipers started the run-chase very well
In the very next over, Azam Khan, when he was on 7 runs, got dropped by Zuhaib Zubair, but dropping Azam Khan proved costly to the Giants as Azam Khan made the defending champions pay.
PC: ESPNcricinfo
Azam Khan’s blistering knock helped the Vipers finish the game
Azam Khan, who has a sizable fan base here, blasted Zubair’s opening ball for a straight six. He quickly surpassed Munro’s score by assisting Munro in quickening the run flow. He struck Brathwaite for two consecutive sixes and fours to take out 22 runs from the 15th over, with 50 runs needed off 36 balls.
In order to get 26 runs off the 16th over, Munro also hit Zubair for three boundaries and two consecutive sixes. Azam Khan and Munro scored 80 runs in 34 balls for the fourth wicket as a team before Munro was caught by Gerhard Erasmus off Blessing Muzarabani at mid-wicket.
PC: ESPNcricinfo
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