SWvMIE Report: First ADKR skittled out for 95, now Sharjah Warriors for 76; MI Emirates running riot

There’s winning a match. And there’s winning a match with such authority. There’s creating records, and then there’s creating the record of getting the opposition dismissed for the lowest-ever total at Sharjah! A thumping 107-run win, and MI Emirates strengthen their stay at the top of the table with another huge NRR kick-up. 

Akeal’s web proves too sticky

Defending a par 180, we needed a solid start, and Akeal Hosein didn’t just start, he just didn’t stop. Johnson Charles was cleaned up in the first over, before Joe Denly, Basil Hameed and Daniel Sams fell to his bowling in the same over post the powerplay, and the Warriors just couldn’t recover from what hit them. 

Trent Boult with the bat, Trent Boult with the ball, Trent Boult on the field 

To say he picked up wickets in the powerplay is just stating the obvious. We know that. With that bat, Boulty had a free swing, given he had to face the last two balls of the MI Emirates innings. Each of those two balls were fours. And then obviously, he had Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Niroshan Dickwella walking back inside the powerplay to pile onto what Akeal Hosein had done already. The best though was reserved for the end, when he ran a cool 20 yards in the deep, and pouched Basil Hameed’s catch with effortless ease. 

The 93-run Fletcher-Perera assault

The Warriors won the toss, put us in to bat first, and then Chris Woakes had Muhammad Waseem dismissed off the second ball of the match. But that was all the happiness they were having, for Kusal Perera and Andre Fletcher turned the tables quickly. Either got to a score of 42, and in just 56 balls, slammed a 93-run stand. 

Right then, what this now means is that we are sitting pretty as the table-toppers. These might be early days into the league, we’re still in the first half, mind you, but the roll that this team has gotten into has all of us believing!