Sherfane Rutherford's services with the bat were once again surplus to requirements as the Desert Vipers maintained their dominance in the DP World ILT20 with a commanding eight-wicket win over Johnson Charles’ Sharjah Warriorz on Saturday.
Playing at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the much-anticipated contest fizzled out as the Vipers, electing to bowl first, dismantled the Warriorz batting lineup to restrict them to 151-8. An explosive, unbroken 128-run partnership between Alex Hales and captain Sam Curran then propelled the Vipers to an emphatic victory, as they got to 152-2 in just 14.5 overs.
Hales, in red-hot form, smashed an unbeaten 77 off 42 balls, including seven fours and five towering sixes, while Curran provided excellent support with a quickfire 54 not out from 34 balls, decorated with five boundaries and two sixes.
The pair’s counterattack came after a brief wobble at the start of the innings, where the Vipers lost Fakhar Zaman (8) and Dan Lawrence (0) in the space of two balls and were reduced to 24-2 in the fourth over.
Adam Milne (2-17) was the lone bright spot for the Warriorz, claiming both wickets.
However, once Hales and Curran settled, they dismantled the Warriorz’ bowling attack with ease. Both paced the chase perfectly and sealed the win with more than five overs to spare.
Earlier, the Warriorz innings struggled to gain momentum after a poor start. Johnson Charles (1) and Avishka Fernando (2) were both dismissed early by David Payne, with the score at 17-2.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore (42 off 36 balls) and Jason Roy (55 off 38 balls) then stitched together a 58-run third-wicket partnership to revive the innings. Kohler-Cadmore struck three fours and three sixes before falling in the 10th over with the score at 75.
Roy continued to anchor the innings, with nine boundaries in his knock, and found brief support from Tim Seifert (16). However, a late collapse saw the Warriorz lose Roy, Seifert, and Rohan Mustafa (2) in quick succession.
Ashton Agar’s cameo of 15 from eight balls, featuring two sixes, added some respectability to the total.
The Vipers' bowlers were clinical, with right-arm fast Khuzaima Tanveer leading the charge. His remarkable 4-22 stifled the Warriorz’ progress, while Payne provided early breakthroughs to finish with 2-33.
With the win, the Desert Vipers’ consolidated position at the top of the standings with 12 points from six wins. In contrast, the Warriorz remain fifth with just four points, their campaign increasingly hanging by a thread.