Johnson Charles had an incredible innings of 93 (51), which helped the Sharjah Warriors victory against the Dubai Capitals by five wickets in Monday’s ILT20 match at the Dubai International Stadium. Johnson Charles looked like a man on a mission as he was not only taking calculative risks but made sure that he didn’t panic after playing a string of dot balls
With a 31-run loss to the defending champion Gulf Giants in their initial game, this was the Warriors’ first victory of the tournament’s second season. Conversely, after defeating MI Emirates in their opening game, the Dubai Capitals experienced their first loss of the season.
Pitch Report and Toss Update
The surface of the Dubai International Stadium was a batting-friendly wicket; therefore, it was anticipated that batsmen would come out on fire. Also, the pitch was good with the bounce, and it looked like the ball would come off the bat well. So Tom Kohler-Cadmore won the toss and put the Dubai Capitals to the bat.
Dubai Capitals got off to a slow start
After putting in the bat, the Capitals didn’t get the start they required as the skipper and opener of the team, David Warner, struggled a lot on the crease. Warner’s opening partner, Rahmaullah Gurbaz, who played a match-winning knock of 81 runs against MI Emirates, got out for only 15 runs to Daniel Sams. The Capitals were on 38/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Daniel Sams struck again in the second over of his spell and took the wicket of skipper Warner, who scored 20 (27). Before the Capitals could form a partnership, Maheesh Theekshana got rid of Jake Fraser-McGurk in the very next over, and the Capitals were struggling on 61/3 at the half-way stage of the inning.
Sam Billings and Sikandar Raza took the Capitals to a fighting total
The first half of the game never got underway, but after a pivotal stand by Sam Billings and Sikandar Raza, the game was turned around and the Capitals were back in it. Sikandar Raza scored 48 runs off 23 balls with three boundaries and three sixes, while Sam Billings scored 52 runs off 32 balls with four sixes and one boundary.
After their team got off to a sluggish start, scoring just 38 runs in the powerplay, they combined to put on 81 runs for the fourth wicket off 44 balls. Even though they lost wickets in the last few overs, they were still able to reach a 170-run total.
Daniel Sams claimed three wickets for a total of 28, including Warner, Raza, and Gurbaz’s wickets. Chris Woakes (2 for 21) and Mahesh Theekshana (2 for 32) provided him with strong support. Theekshana was awarded the white belt for taking the most wickets thus far in the competition. He had also taken four wickets against the Gulf Giants in his first match.
Johnson Charles gave quick start to the Sharjah Warriors, but Dushamantha Chameera kept the wicket column ticking
The Warriors sent in opener Martin Guptill as an impact player in place of Dilshan Madushanka in an attempt to reach their target of 171 runs, but he got run out for just two runs. Next, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, the captain and opener, edged Dushmantha Chameera to wicketkeeper Gurbaz for three runs.
After taking Chameera for a six to start the innings, Johnson Charles hit Jason Holder for a six and a boundary to lessen the impact of the early wicktes. After scoring 25 runs in 12 balls with Johnson Charles, Niroshan Dickwella was dismissed for 7 runs by Chameera.
Johnson Charles scored 42 runs off those overs to guarantee that the Warriors were well-positioned at 60 for 3 by the end of the powerplay. In just 26 balls, he sprinted to his half century. Johnson Charles was well-supported by Lewis Gregory, who continued to score runs at will. The Warriors were on 92/3 at the half-way mark.
Johnson Charles took the Sharjah Warriors to the win
In the 13th over, Chameera clean-bowled Gregory (16) for his third wicket. Johnson Charles, who was seven runs short of a century, was forced to top edge to wicketkeeper Gurbaz by Chameera after he had been removed from the game. Sams and Hameed then led the team to the target.
Daniel Sams and Basil Hameed put together a match-winning 27-run partnership for the sixth wicket after he was dismissed, which helped the Warriors over the finish line. Sams scored a quick 16 in just eight deliveries, hitting three boundaries, while Hameed scored 24 off 20 with the help of one boundary and two sixes.
No other bowler, except Dushmantha Chameera, ever caused bother for the opposition batsmen. Chameera claimed all five of the wickets that fell, including a run-out that was struck directly. Players such as Jason Holder and Kane Richardson got hit for plenty, and the spinners were unable to produce any harm either.
Strangely, David Warner didn’t even bowl Akif Raja, who was their top wicket-taker the previous season and had performed well in the bowling department. It was a quiet performance all around, and they lost for the first time in the competition.
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