Aayan Khan Shines as Gulf Giants Edge Sharjah Warriorz by Six Wickets in ILT20
Left-arm spinner Aayan Khan delivered a piercing spell, taking three wickets to steer Gulf Giants to a six-wicket victory over Sharjah Warriorz in an ILT20 Season 4 clash in Dubai. The UAE bowler’s haul helped restrict the Warriorz to 157 for 6 in the first innings, after which Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s fifty and Azmatullah Omarzai’s quick-fire cameo sealed the win on Wednesday night. The loss extended Warriorz’ losing streak to three consecutive ILT20 fixtures, while the Giants moved to three wins from four matches, keeping them firmly in second place on the standings.
Chasing 158, the Giants opened with intent as Gurbaz smashed 50 off 36 balls and Vince contributed 35 off 28, launching lights-out scoring with a 21-run onslaught off Wasim Akram in the second over.
The early aggression set the tone, with five sixes coming in the powerplay as Giants surged to 73 without loss, seemingly cruising the chase.
Vince fell to Sikandar Raza in the eighth over, and the Giants managed just 48 runs between the 6th and 16th overs, slowing the pace but not the result.
With 47 needed off 39, Gerhard Erasmus (15 off 18) joined Omarzai (28 off 21), reducing the target to eight runs needed off six balls.
Omarzai then cleared Southee for a six in the final over and perished next ball, still leaving the Giants with a comfortable path to victory with two balls to spare.
Earlier in the innings, Johnson Charles (36 off 32) and Kusal Mendis (23 off 15) helped Warriorz reach 48/1 under the fielding restrictions.
But the middle overs belonged to Gulf Giants’ bowlers. Aayan Khan produced a phenomenal spell of 3/17 from four overs, removing Charles, Mendis, and Tim David (19 off 14), leaving Warriorz at 94/4 in 13.3 overs.
Liam Dawson (1/21) then dismissed Sikandar Raza for 3 off 7, and Mark Adair bowled Shubham Ranjane for 17 off 21, tightening the gap to 119/6 in the 18th over.
Dwaine Pretorius added a brisk 36 off 17 as Warriorz managed to push past 150, but it was not enough to turn the game.
(Note: This report is automatically generated from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by NDTV staff.)
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