Watch: David Wiese's stunning five-wicket haul ruins Sharjah Warriors' hopes of ILT20 Playoff

David Wiese (Source: Twitter)

International League T20 or ILT20 is now moving towards its business end with playoffs set to start on February 8. In the last league match, Gulf Giants beat Sharjah Warriors by seven wickets and knocked them out of the tournament. In the match veteran bowler, David Wiese starred with a stunning five-wicket haul and led Giants to a comfortable win.

After being called to bat first Warriors collapsed against the furious bowling spell of David Wiese. In his electrifying spell Wise took five wickets for 20 runs in four overs he bowled. He took the wickets of Evin Lewis, Marcus Stoinis, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Woakes, and Joe Denly. With this five-wicket haul wise became the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He has taken 15 wickets in eight matches.

Watch Wiese’ stunning bowling spell here

4️⃣ overs. 2️⃣0️⃣ runs. 5️⃣ wickets.

What a bowling spell that was🔥#ILT20 pic.twitter.com/Ns7NKM35Dy

— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) February 7, 2023

The Warriors lost three batters, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, skipper Moeen Ali, and Evin Lewis for single-digit scores. Marcus Stoinis and Mohammed Nabi also failed to convert starts into a big score. However, Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored 33 runs off 19 balls with six fours and one six. As a result, Warriors bowled out for 107 in 18.3 overs. Despite losing three wickets in the process, the Giants were able to chase the target with 21 balls remaining. 

Sharjah Warriors’ defeat knocked them out of the tournament as they finished fifth in the points table with seven points. The warriors’ defeat also helped Dubai Giants to qualify for the playoffs and now they will take on MI Emirates in the eliminator on February 9 in Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Gulf Giants will play the first qualifiers 

After winning this match Giants topped the table in the group stage and will take on Desert Wipers in the first qualifier on February 8 at the Dubai International Stadium. Wipers have finished second on the points table by winning seven out of ten matches in the league stage. They have lost three matches and have 14 points in total. 

Desert Wiper’s Alex Hales is leading the list of highest run scorers of the tournament. Hales has smashed 465 runs in ten matches at an average of 58.12. He is being challenged by MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard who has scored 337 runs at a furious strike rate of 198.23. With an average of 67.40, Pollard is the leading run scorer for the Emirates this season.