Dubai, Jan 21 (IANS): Sharjah Warriors marched to their first victory riding on Tom Kohler-Cadmore's unbeaten 106 off just 47 balls with 10 boundaries and six sixes in the 10th match of the DP World ILT20 at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.
It was a spectacular batting show from the 28-year-old England batsman who led the run chase after Dubai Capitals had posted a challenging 177 for 4 in 20 overs.
For Dubai Capitals, opener Joe Root cracked an unbeaten unbeaten 80 off 54 balls with eight fours and one six backed by skipper Rovman Powell's 44 off 27 balls with five boundaries and a six. Unfortunately, their effort went in vain before Kohler Cadmore's fastest century of the tournament. Kohler Cadmore had also scored 55 in his last match against MI Emirates, but his effort went in vain as Sharjah lost that match by six wickets.
On Saturday, it was Kohler-Cadmore's day after Sharjah Warriors won the toss and elected to bowl. Dubai opener Robin Uthappa fell to the fifth ball of the second over slashing a wide delivery from Naveen Ul Haq straight to Noor Ahmed at deep point for 3. UAE's Chirag Suri too fell quickly pulling Chris Woakes to Noor Ahmed at backward square leg for 4.
Daniel Lawrence joined opener Joe Root and began to lift the team out of their early blows. Root hit Naveen Ul Haq for two boundaries and a six in the fifth over. Dubai reached the 50-run mark in 6.2 overs. UAE's left-arm pacer Muhammad Jawadullah, playing his first match, bowled a tight seventh over giving away only six runs. Left-arm chinaman bowler Noor Ahmed too bowled tight giving away only five runs in the eighth over. Jawadallah's ninth over too yielded only four runs. At the halfway mark, Dubai Capitals were 70 for 2 with Root scoring the majority of the runs.
Lawrence hit Jawadullah for a six to deep mid-wicket and two boundaries in the 11th over to exhibit the first signs of aggression. Eighteen runs came off that over. Root reached his 50 in 35 balls. Naveen Ul Haq struck in the 13th over to have Lawrence caught at long-on by Tom Kohler-Cadmore for 34. Lawrence and Root had added 82 runs in 59 balls for the third wicket. Root continued to strike brilliantly, and together with his skipper Rovman Powell, they pulled up the score to a healthy 122 for 3 in 15 overs.
Powell, aided by some poor fielding, he escaped being caught, and saw his team go past the 150 mark in 17.5 over. However, he fell to the fifth ball of the last over, caught and bowled by Woakes 44. He added 74 runs in 45 balls for the fourth wicket. Yusuf Pathan hit the last ball for a mighty six to deep fine leg to ensure a total of 177 for 4 in 20 overs. Joe Root remained unconquered on 80.
Brilliant chase
Chasing a run rate of 8.85 needed a good start. Sharjah Warriors got off to a breezy start with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Kohler-Cadmore hitting a boundary and a six respectively off Mujeeb Ur Rehman's second over. Kohler-Cadmore hit Isuru Udana for three consecutive boundaries in the third over. UAE's Akif Raja ended the 47 runs partnership posted in 3.3 overs by removing Gurbaz when Udana took a tumbling catch at short fine leg for 18.
One-drop Dawid Malan began by hitting Raja for two consecutive boundaries. Kohler-Camdore hit Mujeeb for four boundaries and two sixes in the sixth over to take 29 runs off the over. Scoring 95 runs in the powerplay lifted Sharjah's hopes. Though Chamika Karunaratne forced Malan to play on to his wicket for 9, Sharjah needed to score a run-a-ball 83 to win the match. Moeen Ali joined Kohler-Cadmore and the score went past the 100-run mark in seven overs. Powell bowled a tight eighth over giving away only seven runs. Akif Raja struck again to have Moeen out to a tumbling catch by substitute Fabian Allen at deep square leg for 15.
Joe Denly joined Kohler-Cadmore and Sharjah reached the 150 mark in 12 overs. Kohler -Cadmore reached his century in 46 balls and Sharjah won the match with 32 balls to spare. Joe Denly remained unbeaten on 29.
Speaking about his performance, Sharjah Warriors' Tom Kohler-Cadmore said, "My goal was to take my team over the line, but getting a hundred tops it off. The bowlers did a great job and then everyone chipped in with the bat. It was a good team performance. I want to contribute to the team's victories and I don't worry about individual feats."
Meanwhile, Dubai Capitals' assistant coach Pravin Amre, said, "Tom Kohler-Cadmore took the pressure off his team and didn't allow us to make a comeback. He played a special innings. Joe Root played an anchor's innings and took us to a par score after we were reduced to 15 for 2. We thought we had a fighting total on the board, but it wasn't good enough."
Brief scores: Sharjah Warrior bt Dubai Capitals by 7 wkts. Dubai Capitals 177 for 4 in 20 overs (Joe Root 80n.o, Dan Lawrence 34, Rovman Powell 44, Chris Woakes 2 for 35, Naveen Ul Haq 2 for 41) Sharjah Warriors 182 for 3 in 14.4 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 106, Joe Denly 29n.o, Akif Raja 2 for 34).