ILT20: MI Emirates beats Sharjah Warriors by 6 wickets

Imran Tahir of MI Emirates helped drive his team to a second win over Sharjah Warriors in just four days in Tuesday’s International League T20 (ILT20) match in the UAE.

In MI Emirates’ opening fixture at the weekend, which was against the same opposition – Sharjah Warriors – Tahir took three for 26 in Abu Dhabi.

But his two for 17 on Tuesday evening, after Sharjah had got off to a flier in their first match at their home ground, was even better.

His victims were the Sharjah captain, Moeen Ali, and their top-scoring opener, Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Once Tahir had made his incisions, a target that looked set to be in the region of 200 was scaled down to 146, The National reported.

Easy for a side who have Will Smeed, Muhammad Waseem, Andre Fletcher, Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard making up their top five. MI Emirates were six-wicket winners by the end.

“I have said many times before, I just have a huge respect for the game,” Tahir said between innings, after being handed the white belt which is given to the leading bowler in the ILT20.

“For my son and my family, I want to show it is never too late. I just respect the game and want to play in a good manner,” he said.

Tournament organizers meanwhile gave away thousands of tickets ahead of Tuesday’s fixture as the stadium would have been short on fans given that it was a week night match.

A dream come true

Meanwhile, one of the most exciting young players in the UAE national team, Muhammad Waseem, fulfilled a major goal of his promising career – to play with some of the big stars involved with the Mumbai Indians family.

His dream was fulfilled when he got the opportunity to represent MI Emirates in the inaugural edition of the ILT20. “Since this league was announced I always wanted to play for MI Emirates,” he said.

Mumbai Indians (MI) “is the biggest franchise in the world. It is a successful franchise. When I got to know that I had got a chance to play for MI Emirates under Kieron Pollard as captain, my happiness doubled,” he said.

West Indies star Kieron Pollard is one of the most feared batters in the T20 format and, according to Waseem, “the kind of captain Pollard is, he treats everyone well and gives us all confidence.”

Wednesday’s fixture

The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will take on Desert Vipers in Wednesday’s match which will be played in Dubai from 14:30 Kabul time.

While both teams look strong on paper the Knight Riders have been atrocious with bat in hand and have lost their last 2 matches.

Desert Vipers meanwhile won their last match.

Cricket fans in Afghanistan can watch this match live by tuning in to Ariana Television, which has the exclusive rights to broadcast the tournament in the country.

For the full broadcasting schedule CLICK HERE