Khuzaima Tanveer started Saturday as an anonymous squad member of the Desert Vipers, the as-yet-unused fourth guy in the franchise’s domestic player quota. Khuzaima Tanveer ended it by taking four wickets for 22 runs, doing three separate TV interviews, one with the great Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis, and carrying off the player of the match award after a dream debut at the DP World International League T20.
The 25-year-old fast bowler Khuzaima Tanveer has had to wait his turn patiently at this competition. Khuzaima Tanveer side have been a well-oiled machine since the start of the season, racing to the top of the table in formidable fashion. Khuzaima Tanveer has had to watch as Tanish Suri, Ali Naseer, and Dhruv Parashar – all UAE players of great promise, and each of whom is younger than him – have each had their chance in the starting XI.
Sitting pretty at the top of the table with five wins from six matches at the start of the day, Khuzaima Tanveer was given his chance for the first time against Sharjah Warriorz at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He had played in front of the TV cameras in the Abu Dhabi T10 earlier this season, but this was his first T20 fixture of any significance, and the cast list of players on either side was a starry one.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : This is going to be the fourth match that will be hosted at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the ongoing edition of DP World ILT20. The venue has hosted 159 T20s so far, with 70 being won by teams batting first while 86 being bagged by chasers. The average first innings score is 155.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been a batting paradise with its flat surface, short boundaries, and fast outfield, allowing batsmen to score lots of runs. Fast bowlers have found it difficult to bowl on this surface, but spinners have done well, as the odd ball can take a sharp turn on this wicket.
Toss : Desert Vipers skipper Sam Curran won the toss and chose to bowl with Lockie Ferguson resting and debutant Khuzaima Tanveer in the playing XI. Sharjah Warriorz skipper Tim Southee batting first had the experience of Adam Zampa and added Muhammad Jawadullah in the playing XI.
Khuzaima Tanveer makes dream debut for Desert Vipers with a 4-fer to restrict Sharjah Warriorz to 151 for 8 in 20 overs
Earlier batting first, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jason Roy steadied the innings with a 58-run partnership after Warriorz lost the two wickets early in the innings. Johnson Charles and Avishka Fernando’s failure with the bat continued for the second successive match. Charles was the first man to go as Warriors lost the first wicket with just four runs on the board. Payne gave the Vipers the first breakthrough by getting Charles caught behind the wicket.
In his next over, Payne got rid of Fernando as he was taken by Hose at deep midwicket. Warriorz lost two wickets for 17. They needed somebody to play a sheet-anchor role to post a challenging total. Kohler-Cadmore and Roy combined to do the repair work. They knuckled down to mend the faltering innings. Both the batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles and hit occasional boundaries.
They frustrated the Vipers bowlers and brought the innings back on the track. At one stage, Warriorz were 74/2 and looked poised to post a total of 180 plus. Vipers bowlers were struggling to break the partnership. Hasaranga broke the dangerous-looking partnership. He flighted the ball to lure Kohler-Cadmore, who came down the track to hit over the top. But the wily spinner threw it wide as Kohler-Cadmore missed the ball completely and an agile Azam Khan took the bails off to give Vipers the much-needed breakthrough.
The dismissal of Kohler-Cadmore brought respite to the Vipers’ camp. Roy continued to lead the fightback as he added another 42 runs for the fourth with Tim Siefert to take the score to 117. Roy was the more brutal of the two as he did most of the scoring. Roy raced to his fifty in just 34 balls with the help of eight boundaries.
Khuzaima Tanveer broke the partnership to bring Vipers back into the game, who were struggling to stop the flow of the runs. The dismissal of Seifert opened the floodgates for Vipers’ bowlers in general and for Khuzaima Tanveer in particular. He uprooted the stumps of Seifert to make it 117/4. Four balls later, Khuzaima Tanveer struck again to rattled the stumps of Rohan Mustafa. Two wickets in quick-succession pushed the Warriorz on the back foot again.
Former Pakistani pace spearhead Mohammad Amir, who was the hero of the last match, also sprang into action and dismantled the bails of Roy as Warriors lost three wickets within a space of eight runs to be reduced to 125/6 from 117/3. With three overs remaining in the innings, Warriorz needed someone to play a quick-fire cameo to take them to a fighting total.
Ashton Agar turned out to be the man who smashed a quick-fire 15 off 8 deliveries but he did not get the support from the other end. In his next over, Khuzaima Tanveer sent back Luke Wells and Tim Southee in his next over to complete his four-wicket haul as Warriorz could manage to muster 151/8 in 20 overs.
Alex Hales quickfire 77 runs alongside skipper Sam Curran’s half century powers Desert Vipers to 8 wicket win
Defending, Warriorz did make some in-roads as they got rid of Fakhar Zaman and Dan Lawrence on the same score to make it 24/2. But the Warriorz’s bowlers failed to capitalize on the start and could not stop Hales and Sam Curran who shared an unbeaten 128-run stand for the third wicket to take the Vipers over the line.
Hales was in devastating form as he smashed a 42-ball 77 with the help of seven boundaries and six sixes to all but put an end to Warriorz’s hopes of come-from-behind victory. He was well-supported by Curran, who also smacked an unbeaten 54 off 34 deliveries. His innings was studded with five hits to the boundary and two over it.
Both the batsmen played with determination and made light work of the target as Vipers notched up sixth victory from the seventh match to tighten grip on the top.
Presentations and Road Ahead
The Desert Vipers win by 8 wickets and stay at the top. They have clearly been the far superior side in this tournament. Earlier in the day, it was a pretty good effort by their bowlers to restrict the Warriorz to a mediocre total. Roy and Tom Kohler Cadmore played pivotal knocks, however, the rest of the Sharjah batters weren’t able to chip in with substantial contributions.
In reply, the Vipers lost a couple of early wickets in the form of Fakhar Zaman and Daniel Lawrence, but Hales and Curran took control of proceedings following that. Hales took his time to get himself in, but once he was set, he smashed the bowlers to all parts of the park. Curran joined him soon as the England duo finished off the chase within 15 overs. Both of them scored fifties as it was a clinical chase by the Vipers.
Riding on Khuzaima Tanveer’s four-wicket haul and Alex Hales blitzkrieg 77, Desert Vipers defeated Sharjah Warriorz by eight wickets at their home ground in an ILT20 match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Khuzaima Tanveer wreaked havoc as Vipers restricted Warriorz to 151/8, and chased won the target for the loss of just two wickets with five overs and one ball to spare.
Khuzaima Tanveer became the first player to pick up four wickets on debut in ILT20. He took four wickets, conceding only 22 runs, which derailed the Warriorz’s innings.