Gulf Giants came back to winning ways as they beat winless Sharjah Warriorz by 6 wickets with 2 balls to spare in Dubai. Gulf Giants won a good toss opted to chase and chased the target down in the final over with 2 balls to spare as Sharjah remained winless in the competition. Put into bat first, Sharjah Warriorz made 157/6 with Aayan Afzal Khan picking up 3/17 for the Giants with the ball while the batters played useful hands to get the competitive total on the board.
In the chase, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored an excellent 50 off 36 balls and others chipped in with meaningful contributions as the Giants finally got over the line with 6 wickets in hand and 2 balls to spare as there were a few 30s scored here and there. For the Warriors, Sikandar Raza bowled well for his 2/20 in 4 overs while Adil Rashid picked up 1/21 in 4 overs. Tim Southee also picked up a wicket. The Giants now second in the table with 3 wins in 4 games. Sharjah at the bottom.
Aayan Afzal Khan’s 3/17 restricts Sharjah Warriorz to 157/6
Put into bat first, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Johnson Charles opened the batting for Sharjah Warriorz while Nuwan Thushara had ball in hand for Gulf Giants. The opening duo got off to a steady start with Charles being the aggressor while Kohler-Cadmore looked on from the other end. The duo put on 25 for the first wicket before Tom fell for 7 off 8 balls with a boundary to his name to Mark Adair. Kusal Mendis came out to bat to join Charles.
The duo played through the rest of the powerplay and steadied the ship for Sharjah and upped the ante a little bit to get the powerplay score to 48/1 in 6 overs. The duo put on 32 runs for the second wicket before Mendis who played the role of aggressor fell for 23 off 15 balls to Aayan Afzal Khan with one four and one six to his name. Shubham Ranjane came out to bat next. The duo of Charles and Ranjane could add 11 more runs to the tally before Charles the set batter fell for 36 off 32 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Aayan Afzal Khan.
Tim David came out to bat with the score at 68/3 in 9.3 overs. It was a struggle for Ranjane as he laboured his way through by not striking boundaries and stuck out there for his team. David was always going to be the aggressor of the two players and showed his glimpses of being a great player. The duo added 26 for the 4th wicket with David scoring 19 of them before David fell for 19 off 14 balls with 2 fours to his name as Aayan Afzal Khan got another.
Sikandar Raza came out to join Ranjane and it was a struggle for both the batters in the middle. They added 5 runs to the tally in 9 balls before Raza fell for 3 off 7 balls to Liam Dawson as the Warriorz were left struggling at 99/5 in 15 overs. Impact Player Dwaine Pretorius came out to bat to join the struggling Ranjane. Pretorius was in the mood and groove from the get go and took on the bowling while Ranjane failed to get a single boundary. 20 more runs were added to the score before Ranjane finally fell for 17 off 21 balls to Mark Adair to leave the Warriorz at 119/6 in 17.2 overs.
Adil Rashid came out to bat alongside Pretorius as we were firmly in the death overs stage at this stage. Pretorius the Impact Player made an instant impact and played his shots as he being the senior player took more the risks while Rashid stayed with him to play a useful hand himself. They took on the Giants bowling and put them under some pressure. They added an unbeaten 38 runs off 16 balls with Pretorius scoring 36* off 17 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Adil Rashid was unbeaten on 12* off 6 balls with 2 fours to his name as Sharjah ended with 157/6 in 20 overs with 4 extras given by the fielding side.
Aayan Afzal Khan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/17 in 4 overs. Mark Adair chipped in with 2/22 in 3 overs. Liam Dawson bowled well for his 1/21 in 4 overs. Moeen Ali bowled a solitary over for 6 runs. Nuwan Thushara bowled 4 overs for 44 runs while Azmatullah Omarzai bowled 4 overs for 44 runs as well. This meant that Gulf Giants needed 158 runs to win off 20 overs.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s fiery half-century guides Gulf Giants over the finishing line
Chasing 158 for the win, Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out to bat with captain James Vince while Tim Southee had ball in hand for Sharjah Warriorz. The openers got off to a fast start as it was the Rahmanullah Gurbaz show as he dazzled his way in Dubai. James Vince complimented him well and played the role of anchor as Gurbaz took down the bowling delivered by Sharjah.
The duo looked at ease and ran away with the powerplay putting on a half-century stand and going beyond. Gurbaz was unstoppable as the Giants scored 73/0 in 6 overs. They carried on their good work post the powerplay but slowed down a tad. The duo put on 78 for the first wicket before Vince fell for 35 off 28 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Sikandar Raza. Moeen Ali came out to bat next. Moeen too played second fiddle and was a mere spectator at the non-striker’s end as Gurbaz put on a show.
The duo put on 29 off 27 balls at just over a run a ball before Moeen fell for 14 off 13 balls with one six to his name as Adil Rashid got his man. Gerhard Erasmus walked out to bat next. Only 4 runs were added to the tally before Gurbaz completed his fifty and then got out for 50 off 36 balls with one four and 4 sixes to his name as Raza got his second wicket. Azmatuula Omarzai joined Erasmus in the middle.
The duo started to build another partnership with Erasmus holding one end up while Omarzai hit the big shots from time to time. They got together in the 14th over and then played through the end overs as well putting on a crucial 44 runs for the 4th wicket. Omarzai hit a maximum before getting out to Southee for 28 off 21 balls with one four and 2 sixes to his name with Tim David taking the catch in the deep.
Impact Player Sean Dickson came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace and then took a single to finish the game off in favour of the Gulf Giants. Gerhard Erasmus laboured her way to 15 off 18 balls but remained unbeaten while Dickson made an unbeaten 3 off 2 balls. 13 extras given by the fielding side as the victory was achieved in 19.4 overs.
Sikandar Raza was the pick of the bowlers for Sharjah Warriorz with figures of 2/20 in 4 overs. Adil Rashid bowled well for his 1/21 in 4 overs. Tim Southee got a wicket and finished with 1/34 in 3.4 overs. Wasim Akram bowled an over for 21 runs. Dwaine Pretorius bowled an over for 9 runs. Junaid Siddique bowled an over for 14 runs. Tim David bowled an over for 3 runs. So, Gulf Giants won by 6 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Aayan Afzal Khan was named the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
The bandwagon moves to Abu Dhabi for tonight’s game as it is the 11th game of the tournament where MI Emirates will lock horns with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on 11th December, 2025 at 8:00 PM IST. MI Emirates lost a close encounter to Desert Vipers while Abu Dhabi Knight Riders lost badly to Dubai Capitals in previous game. Let’s see how this game unfolds in Abu Dhabi later tonight.
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