Matheesha Pathirana wreaks havoc on eve of IPL 2026 auction, helps Sharjah Warriorz beat Gulf Giants by 11 runs

Sri Lanka's young pacer Matheesha Pathirana performed at the opportune moment, less than a day ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. In the ILT20 2025 clash, Pathirana did not take just three wickets for Sharjah Warriorz but conceded just 17 runs from his quota of four overs to derail Gulf Giants' run chase. In the end, Giants managed to post 163/9 and lost the match by 11 runs.

Warriorz fight after poor start

Earlier, Giants skipper James Vince won the toss and opted to bowl first. Warriorz opener were dismissed cheaply. Fred Klaassen knocked over Tom Kohler-Cadmore for six runs whereas Matthew Forde dismissed Johnson Charles for a run-a-ball 12. Tom Abell and James Rew shared a 71-run partnership for the third wicket. Abell continued to anchor and completed his half-century. In the 15th over, he lost his wicket to Aayan Khan. The top-order batter hit five fours and three sixes in his 41-ball 68.

ALSO READ: Pat Cummins returns as Australia announce playing XI for Adelaide Test, no place for Usman Khawaja and Gabba 2nd innings hero

Rew contributed with a 33-ball 39 before getting bowled by Chris Wood. Skipper Sikandar Raza could not make an impact and was dismissed for a run-a-ball nine in the penultimate over. Dwaine Pretorius' 13-ball 28 cameo helped Warriorz post 174/6.

ALSO READ: BCCI adds 19 players to the IPL 2026 auction list, including Abhimanyu Easwaran: Check new additions

Pathirana, Akram hunt down Giants

With the new ball, Taskin Ahmed and Wasim Akram were impressive. Akram struck twice to dismiss Pathum Nissanka and Kyle Mayers. Ahmed dismissed skipper Vince for a three-ball duck. Gurbaz tried to keep up with the required run rate and use the fielding restrictions but Pathirana knocked him over. He scored 30 runs from 15 balls. From 38/4, Ali and Azmatullah Omarzai kept the run chase afloat. Akram returned to break the partnership in the 15th over. Omarzai departed for a 26-ball 41, featuring three sixes.

Pretorius cashed in on scoreboard pressure. The Proteas all-rounder got the wickets of Asif Khan and Liam Dawson. Pathirana ruled out Giants' comeback with the wicket of Ali who scored 45 runs from 41 balls. Giants managed to post 163/9 and suffered their third consecutive loss in a row. This was Warriorz’s second win from five games, keeping them alive in the playoffs race.

Pathirana was named ‘Player of the match’ for his economical three-fer.