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Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 53 followed by a dominating bowling display including UAE's 20-year-old leggie Zuhaib Zubair’s economical four-fer helped Gulf Giants bowl out Sharjah Warriors for 108 and register a 79-run win. After losing early wickets Sharjah Warriors struggled to get a partnership going and ended up losing the match by a massive margin.
Earlier, Tom Kohler-Cadmore won the toss and opted to field first. Chris Woakes started with a tidy over conceding just two runs. Jamie Smith hit the first six of the innings and then got bowled by Muhammad Jawadullah next ball. Chris Lynn took on Woakes hitting him for three fours. James Vince and Lynn used powerplay overs well taking Gulf Giants' score to 51/1.
After two boundaryless overs, Lynn hit Daniel Sams for two fours. Sean Williams in his second over removed both batters. Lynn went for the slog but got caught at deep mid-wicket. His 32-ball 45 featured six fours and a six. On the last ball, he dismissed Vince for a run-a-ball 20. Gulf Giants were 76/3 at the halfway stage. Shimron Hetmyer in Williams' next over hit a six. But the Zimbabwean all-rounder came back well to dismiss Jordan Cox. Hetmyer continued the attack and Gerhard Erasmus joined him. But the Scottish batter fell to Daniel Sams in the 16th over after scoring 17 runs from 11 balls.
In the 17th over, Hetmyer went ballistic and hit Williams for two sixes followed by two fours to spoil his bowling figures. The Caribbean batter reached his half-century from just 24 balls. In the last over, Jamie Overton hit Woakes for a six and then lost his wicket after a 15-ball 25 cameo. Chris Jordan hit a boundary first ball. With a couple of runs on the last ball, Gulf Giants posted 187/6. Hetmyer remained unbeaten for 53 off 28 balls including three fours and four sixes.
Sharjah Warriors' run chase got off to the worst possible start. Aayan Khan dismissed Niroshan Dickwella and Joe Denly for golden ducks. Skipper Kohler-Cadmore hit Khan for a four and a six in the next over. Kohler-Cadmore took on Overton as well hitting him for two fours. In the same over, Johnson Charles got out after scoring just two runs from eight balls. In the seventh over, Kohler-Cadmore's stay came to an end. Dominic Drakes dismissed him. The Englishman's 23-ball 39 included four fours and three sixes.
Zuhaib Zubair in his first over got the wicket of Williams with a back-of-the-length delivery. He managed to score just three runs from 11 balls. Sharjah Warriors lost five wickets for 44 runs in the eighth over. After a few quiet overs, Lewis Gregory hit Drakes for a couple of sixes. Super-sub Blessing Muzarabani came back into the attack and dismissed Sams who scored 14 runs from 17 balls. Gregory hit Zubair for two fours and then got out stumped for a 19-ball 30. Zubair in his next over dismissed both Woakes and James Fuller for single-digit scores. In the 18th over, Jordan wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Nilansh Keswani. Sharjah Warriors were bowled out for 108 and lost the match by 79 runs.
This is the Gulf Giants' second win in the tournament. They are still at the bottom of the points table. The 79-run loss had an effect on Sharjah Warriors' net run rate. They are placed fifth with three losses from six games.
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