Desert Vipers convincingly defeated MI Emirates by seven wickets in the 15th match of the ongoing International League T20 2023 (ILT20) at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, January 24. The Vipers returned to winning ways after suffering their first defeat last time out against Gulf Giants. They had a great start to their campaign, having won the first three games of the tournament.
Meanwhile, during the 9th over of the first innings, the Vipers’ allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga put Andre Fletcher into trouble with his brilliant direct hit. Nicholas Pooran played chipped the shot towards the backward point, they tried to get across for a single, but Hasaranga was onto it in a flash, picked it up cleanly, and nailed the stumps with a rocket throw.
Watch the video here:
Sensational fielding by Hasaranga 👏
Just brilliant 💥 pic.twitter.com/ngtl81j1RX
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) January 24, 2023
Alex Hales continued his red-hot form
Talking about the match, the Vipers opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The bowlers started really well as they dismissed the first two batters of MI Emirates on the score of just 10 runs. Later, Fletcher and Pooran tried to save the innings from a collapse but Fletcher departed after scoring 21 runs.
However, Kieron Pollard once again came to the rescue and played a brilliant knock which helped the team to recover from a slow start, taking them to a fighting total of 169. He shared a 116-run stand with Pooran who also made fifty but consumed a lot of time getting there. Just couldn’t find the same rhythm as Pollard who was batting on another level.
Chasing the target, the Vipers lost one of the openers Rohan Mustafa on the score of just 2 runs. Alex Hales, the ILT20’s leading run-scorer, once again made the most of his excellent form. Hales got his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score of the tournament, and Sherfane Rutherford joined the party with a brilliant fifty as well. Colin Munro also played a vital knock of 41 runs off just 22 deliveries including 4 fours and 3 sixes. The target of 170 didn’t prove to be enough against a batting lineup in top form.
