Watch: Wanindu Hasaranga throws a brilliant direct-hit to dismiss Charith Asalanka in ILT20 clash

Published on January 28, 2023

On Friday, January 20, the ninth game of the ongoing ILT20 took place at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi between the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ABD) and the Desert Vipers (VIP). The Vipers completed a comprehensive victory to hand the Knight Riders their third straight loss of the tournament on Wednesday when the two teams had met in the reverse figure.

The Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine won the toss and opted to bowl first. The hosts made one change and the visitor was unchanged from their previous fixture which both teams played against each other. ADKR brought in Zawar Farid in place of Sabir Rao.

Star Sri Lankan all-rounder and Desert Wipers player Wanindu Hasaranga shared his favorite moment from the game which came on the fourth ball of the fifth over when he ran out his national team player Charith Asalanka on the bowling of West Indies left-arm seamer Sheldon Cotrell.

Watch it here:

My most favorite part of the game. 👍🏽🤞🏽 @ILT20Official @TheDesertVipers pic.twitter.com/YNJP43Xahs
— Wanindu Hasaranga (@Wanindu49) January 27, 2023

Alex Hales shines for Desert Vipers with a century

The opener went back to the pavilion after playing only one ball on which he was not able to open his account in a run chase of a mammoth target of 220 runs. The Abu Dhabi team was bundled-out at only 108 runs.

The highest run-scorer for the side was all-rounder Andre Russell who scored 57 runs off 29 balls at a strike rate of 196.55 which included five fours and five sixes. The successful bowlers for the Vipers were Cottrell who took three wickets in his spell of four overs and only gave away 14 runs.

For the Vipers, the highest scorer was English opener Alex Hales, who made 110 runs out of 219 runs in only 59 balls at a strike rate of 186.44 which included seven fours and six sixes. On the other hand, for Sharukh Khan-owned franchise, only two bowlers out of the six bowling options were able to grab wickets.

The Asian champions right-arm speedster, Lahiru Kumara snapped two wickets in his spell of four overs and conceded 31 runs. One wicket went to Russell. The other Knight Rider bowlers Akeal Hosein, Matiuallah Khan, Narine, and Dhananjaya De Silva were wicketless.