Sport
Theekshana and Sams bowl out Dubai Capitals for 104 and lift Sharjah Warriors to nine-wicket win
A happy Sharjah Warriors skipper Tom Kohler-Cadmore said on Monday after beating Dubai Capitals by nine wickets in their ILT20 match that his team played brilliantly.
“The guys were brilliant in the first innings and made our job easier. This isn’t the easiest place to play spin, and to have someone (Maheesh Theekshana) who can bowl three overs in the powerplay is brilliant. Everyone’s chipping in, just about finding consistency.”
Sharjah Warriors’ Johnson Charles received the green belt for the highest run getter of the tournament so far with 200 runs from five matches whereas Theekshana received the white belt for most wickets (11).
Theekshana weaved magic with the ball producing unplayable deliveries to bag four wickets for 20 runs.
His guile and artistry with the ball resulted in Dubai Capitals being bowled out for 104 runs in 18.2 overs.
Theekshana was well-backed by Daniel Sams, who bagged 3 for 28 with his accurate left-arm medium pace. Together they helped Warriors register an emphatic nine-wicket win in the 14th match of the DP World ILT20 season 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Chasing the moderate target, Warriors raced to victory in 13.1 overs.
Warriors won the match with 41 balls to spare.
Capitals had come into this match after a defeat to defending champions Gulf Giants and surprised everyone by opting to bat first after winning the toss, unlike all other teams that had elected to bowl.
On the other hand, Warriors, fresh from a win over Desert Vipers the day before this match, carried the momentum and have now shot up the points table to the second slot from the fifth position while Capitals slipped to the fourth slot.
Speaking after the match, Capitals captain Warner admitted that his team did play poorly: “We weren’t good enough with the bat. We are all accountable for that. The wicket played a bit different than we expected, and we need to give credit to them for the way they bowled. Our shot selection wasn’t good enough.
“We need to go back to the drawing board and be brave. We are being a bit too conservative, need to show more intent. We’ll be back in Dubai where we are a bit more confident about the conditions,” he said.
Talking about his spell, Player of the Match, Theekshana said: “The surface was a bit slower than yesterday and it got better for me. We have got experienced players, and we are performing well as a team. In Abu Dhabi (next match), I have bowled in the T10 and the 2021 World Cup as well. I know the wickets there, so hopefully I can get better out there too.”
Tuesday’s match
Tuesday, January 30, will see Desert Vipers take on MI Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The match will start at 7pm and will be broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Fans across Afghanistan can however tune in at 6:30 pm to watch the pre-match show.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned bowling figures of 2-17 as Kolkata Knight Riders booked their play-off spot with an 18-run win over Mumbai Indians in a rain-reduced IPL match.
Two-time champions Kolkata posted 157-7 as Venkatesh Iyer top-scored with 42 off 21 balls after being invited to bat first at their home Eden Gardens in a 16-overs-a-side match, AFP reported.
Bowlers combined to defend the total after Mumbai raced to 65-0 and Chakravarthy, a mystery spinner, got the big wickets of Rohit Sharma, who made 19 after coming in as impact substitute, and skipper Hardik Pandya, who was caught out for two.
Five-time winners Mumbai, who are already out of the play-off race, finished on 139-8 as Tilak Varma hit a 17-ball 32 before he fell to fast bowler Harshit Rana, who took two wickets in the last over.
Pace bowler Andre Russell also took two wickets, including that of Suryakumar Yadav, as table-toppers Kolkata got their ninth win in 12 matches to become the first team to book a play-off berth.
The top four teams will make the play-offs with the final on May 26 in Chennai.
Kolkata lost openers Phil Salt, out for six, and Sunil Narine, bowled for a duck off Jasprit Bumrah, in the first two overs and skipper Shreyas Iyer soon fell for seven.
But Venkatesh, a left-hand batsman, made Kolkata hit back with six fours and two sixes and he set the pace that was picked up by Nitish Rana and Russell in a key stand of 39.
Rana, a left-hand batter, hit 33 and Russell smashed 24 off 14 before Rinku Singh, who hit 20, and Ramandeep Singh, unbeaten 17, helped Kolkata finish on a high, AFP reported.
Bumrah and veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla took two wickets each.
Sorkh Poshan Khafi defeated Aino Mina 1-0 in the 41st match of Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) in Kabul on Friday.
In the 42nd match later in the day, Sarsabz Yashlar beat Khurasan Faryab 2-0.
The only goal in Sorkh Poshan Khafi’s match against Aino Mina was scored by Habibullah Hotak who netted the ball with a header.
Temor Shah Raoufi and Mustafa Rezaie scored for Sarsabz Yashlar in their 2-0 victory against Khurasan Fayrab.
Saturday’s matches will see Abu Muslim Farah take on Jawanan Wahedi at 1pm, while Adalat Farah play Khadim at 3:30pm.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
IPL heavyweights Mumbai Indians became the first team to be knocked out of the play-off race after Sunrisers Hyderabad hammered Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets.
Five-time winners Mumbai are ninth in the 10-team table on eight points after only four wins in 12 matches, AFP reported.
Hyderabad, led by Pat Cummins, moved third on 14 points after they chased down 166 in 9.4 overs on Wednesday night, courtesy Travis Head’s 89 and 75 by Abhishek Sharma.
Lucknow and Delhi Capitals are both on 12 points and face each other on 14 May meaning Mumbai cannot qualify for the top four to contest the playoffs, even if Hardik Pandya’s side win their two remaining matches.
Mumbai lost their first three games with Pandya booed after he replaced the popular Rohit Sharma as skipper this season.
Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals both have 16 points each.
The final will be on 26 May in Chennai.
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