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Dubai Capitals made booked their spot in ILT20 2025-26 qualifiers with a six-wicket win with five balls to spare against bottom-placed Sharjah Warriorz on December 24. England's wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox, who was recently roped in by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini auction, turned out to be the chasemaster with an unbeaten 61 in run chase of 135.
Charles struggles, Warriorz post fighting total
Tim Southee took over Sharjah Warriorz's captaincy from Sikandar Raza. Dubai Capitals skipper Mohammad Nabi won the toss and opted to bowl first. Monank Patel contributed with a 13-ball 24 cameo before he was run out by David Willey in the fifth over. Johnson Charles struggled to find boundaries or rotate the strike. Tom Abell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore couldn't make an impact and departed for single-digit scores.
Charles tried to accelerate with Raza taking his time on the other end. In the 14th over, Mustafizur Rahman sent Raza packing. At the start of slog overs, Adil Rashid struck twice to dismiss Charles and Ethan DSouza. The opener scored 43 runs from 46 deliveries. In his last over, Nabi got the wicket of James Rew. Harmeet Singh hit a four and a six each before falling to Willey in the last over. Adil Rashid hit a six off the last over. He scored 14 runs from nine balls. Southee finished the innings with a four as Warriorz posted 134/8.
Slow start but Jahangir catches up
Dubai Capitals struggled in the powerplay overs of the run chase. After six overs, they had 29/1 on the board having lost the wicket of Sediqullah Atal. Shayan Jahangir and Cox focused on keeping wickets in hand. At the halfway stage, they were 60/1. The acceleration came right after. Jahangir hit Taskin Ahmed for three fours in an over. In the 13th over, he hit Southee for a six. He reached his fifty from 38 balls.
Cox finishes it off after Raza’s double strike
Raza got the breakthrough in the 15th over. He dismissed Jahangair who contributed with a 39-ball 51. In the same over, he got the wicket of Nabi as well. After two boundary-less overs, Cox hit a four. Taskin knocked over Leus du Plooy in the same over. In the last two overs, 21 runs were needed. Cox decided to go on an all out attack against Southee in the penultimate over, hitting the Kiwi pacer for four consecutive fours. He reached his fifty from 46 deliveries. On the first ball of the last over, Rovman Powell hit a six to finish the run chase. Cox remained unbeaten for a 50-ball 61.
How Sharjah Warriorz can still qualify for ILT20 2025 playoffs?
Somehow, Warriorz are still alive in the playoffs race. Gulf Giants and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have three wins each from nine games as well. Only Giants have a better net run rate (NRR). Warriorz are set to face Desert Vipers in their last league stage clash on December 26. They need to win the match by a good margin at their homeground. Then, they will hope that Giants beat Knight Riders on December 28 but not by a huge margin.
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