Phew!!! What a game of cricket we just witnessed in Sharjah! MI Emirates pull off a heist at the end to win the game by just 4 runs. It was a game that could have gone either way, but it went the Emirates' way. They opened their winning account this season. The Warriorz need to get on the winning ways before things go out of control.
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator, Ajay Pal Singh and scorer, Yogesh Kumar. There is the second game of the doubleheader coming up shortly. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have already won the toss there in Dubai and have decided to bowl first against Dubai Capitals. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
Romario Shepherd (POTM): "For me, it is about clarity. I knew what the deal was towards the end, and it was to get momentum back. We just lost Pollard and Banton. So, they had momentum.
I work on my shape. Because I know if I hold my shape, I can hit a six in any part of the ground, and that is something I pay attention to.
Bowling yorkers was what I was looking to do. It was reversing a bit. I know it is tough to hit the reverse-swinging yorkers. Pollard said I could do whatever I wanted, and that is what I wanted to do. I knew exactly what I wanted to execute. Overall, happy with my effort."
Player of the Match: Romario Shepherd
Kieron Pollard (MI Emirates Captain): "Very happy, to be honest. But I should not be speaking as the winning captain right now. Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. If you fight till the end, anything can happen. Well played to the guys.
We lost wickets in clusters, and that tends to slow you down. We tried to rebuild, but they bowled well. We got a good flourish in the end, credit to Shepherd, and that gave us momentum into the second half.
The changes were horses for courses. We want to go out there, check the conditions and select the team accordingly. We don't want to be monotonous.
I didn't actually tell Shepherd anything in the last over. He wanted me to come and discuss the plan for the last ball. I said to him that you have bowled so well so far; do what you do best, and I don't want to be involved in it. And he executed it. Credit to him.
Yeah, they were going really well. A couple of wickets in the same over for Ghazanfar, and that turned the game. I said in the time out that a wicket or two from here, still anything can happen."
Tim Southee (Sharjah Warriorz Captain): "Yeah, does! It is T20 cricket. Both sides gave their all. Both were in it throughout the game.
Raza and TKC 's partnership was brilliant. We fell short in the end.
We did better than the last night. As a unit, we can be better. The day game was going to be different; we did it better than the last night, but still room for improvement. Ideally, it is nice if someone who is well set stays till the end.
As a bowling side, if you can take wickets, you can stay till the end. Credit to them.
Not too sure. I have not yet seen him (Dinesh Karthik)."
Dispatch of the Day: Romario Shepherd for his six over deep point.
7:28 PM IST and 6:08 PM Local Time: We are ready with the post-match ceremony.
7:19 PM IST, 5:49 PM Local Time: MI Emirates pull off a heist to secure a 4-run win in Sharjah. A terrific last over from Romario Shepherd when the chips were down and he has taken the Men in Blue and Gold over the line. Dinesh Karthik injured himself in the last over and that might have played a role in the outcome of this contest.
Earlier in the game, MI Emirates batted first and posted a decent total on the board. Romario Shepherd led the charge with the bat in the final stages of the innings.
Muhammad Waseem (39 off 29) and Jonny Bairstow (37 off 24) started well. Nicholas Pooran struggled, scoring 5 off 12. Shakib Al Hasan was retired out after scoring 16 off 12. Tom Banton made 32 and it was Romario's cameo where he scored 31 off 10 got MI Emirates to 185/8 from 20 overs.
Adil Rashid picked up 3/32, while Maheesh Theekshana, Tim Southee and Junaid Siddique all picked up one wicket each.
In reply, Tom Kohler-Cadmore held one end together with a composed half-century. He made 51 off 42. The Warriorz lost three wickets in quick succession and were struggling at 48/3 inside the powerplay.
Sikandar Raza then scored a breezy half-century. However, once he departed, the momentum changed and MI Emirates kept chipping away with wickets and eventually managed to restrict Warriorz to 181.
The momentum went in favour of the Emirates when Allah Ghazanfar bowled a double-wicket maiden. Romario then defended 11 runs in the last over to get two points.