January 22, Dubai With a spectacular display to surpass the Sharjah Warriorz and secure a commanding 10-wicket victory at the Dubai International Stadium here on Wednesday, the Desert Vipers returned to winning ways in Season 3 of ILT20 Season 3. With the help of Mohammad Amir’s four-wicket haul and Fakhar Zaman’s undefeated 71, the Desert Vipers easily won and solidified their top spot in the rankings.

Alex Hales got the Desert Vipers off to a flurry of boundaries, and they wasted no time in their pursuit. As the team rushed to 20/0 in the first two overs, he hit Adam Milne for a maximum after clobbing Tim Southee for three fours. In his opening over, Zaman took aim at Bangladeshi pacer Junaid Siddique, adding to the drama with some clean hitting. After cutting him away for a boundary over the stump, he hit a stunning pull shot for four more.

Zaman seemed to have a straightforward goal: to prevent the bowlers from settling down. He was in his rhythm. He pursued Ashton Agar and used a huge slog sweep to strike him for a huge six. The Desert Vipers scored 47 runs after five overs when the Pakistani batsman sprinted down the track for the following ball and smashed it clean past the pitcher. The Sharjah Warriorz were 18/4 at the same point in the first innings. As the necessary run rate fell below three runs per over and the Desert Vipers’ batters reveled in the middle, the disparity in batting became apparent. Hales was content to take a backseat while Zaman gave it his best.

Using all his might, he muscled the ball over long on and into the stands as he targeted Siddique once again in the seventh over. Shortly after, Zaman reached his second half-century of the season in 30 balls.

The Desert Vipers would eventually hunt down the target, but Zaman sped up the process by hitting Agar for six with a brilliant slog-sweep and then finishing the match with a beautiful six over long-on. While the Desert Vipers secured a decisive 10-wicket win, Zaman completed with an outstanding 71* in 39 balls.

The Desert Vipers had previously won the toss and decided to bowl. That turned out to be a wise choice as Amir used the new ball to his advantage. Johnson Charles flicked it off his pads straight to Dan Lawrence along the ropes at deep backward square, allowing the Pakistani pacer to make his intentions plain in only four deliveries. Avishka Fernando was also sent back to the pavilion by Amir, who would take two wickets in his first over.

Making the most of the field, Amir returned to torment the Sharjah Warriorz batting lineup. Sam Curran made a straightforward catch after Rohan Mustafa attempted to flick it away on the leg side but was only given a leading edge by a slightly shorter delivery. After three overs, the Sharjah Warriorz were battling at 15/3, putting them in a vulnerable position. Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s misplaced drive gave David Payne his maiden wicket in the fourth over, rewarding the Desert Vipers for their persistent offensive bowling.

Luke Wells assumed responsibility for bringing the team back to stability when the batting collapsed. The Englishman hit consecutive boundaries, then Wanindu Hasaranga knocked down his stumps with a beauty of a ball just when it seemed like he had settled in. As it slipped between bat and pad and crashed against the leg stump, Hasaranga twisted the ball in as Wells was playing for the googly. The Sharjah Warriorz replaced Fernando with Jason Roy as an Impact Sub after reeling at 30/5.

Roy, who usually bats first, was put in a new position for the first time in his career by batting at number seven, but he did a good job of slowing things down. Roy and Tim Seifert kept things together in the middle, but the runs didn’t come easily. That is, until Hasaranga hit another spectacular over.

A Hasaranga googly remained low and hit Seifert on the pads for a plumb lbw, causing him to leave first. Hasaranga picked up his second of the over as Tanish Suri’s lightning-fast talents behind the stumps beat Agar with a length ball and got him stumped. As a result, Hasaranga became the first spinner from Sri Lanka to take 300 wickets in T20 cricket.

The Desert Vipers were in total control of the match when their captain, Lockie Ferguson, walked off the field after hurting his ankle, putting the Sharjah Warriorz down to 45/7. Roy was the Warriorz’s batsman, while Curran took up the role of captain. Despite being their final remaining batting option, he was unsupported by the other end as Curran removed Tim Southee and Harmeet Singh.

The Sharjah Warriorz were bowled out for 91 in 19.1 overs as Amir returned to grab a fourth. Amir ended with the greatest bowling performance in Desert Vipers history, finishing with an amazing 4/24. Hasaranga also made history with his 3/10, which was the DP World ILT20’s most economical four-over session.

Short scores:

Sharjah Warriorz 91 all out in 19.1 overs (Jason Roy 30 not out, Mohammad Amir 4-24, Wanindu Hasaranga 3-10, Sam Curran 2-14) lost to Desert Vipers 95 fornot loss in 10 overs (Fakhar Zaman 71 not out, Alex Hales 23 not out) by 10 wickets