Desert Vipers ride on Tanveer's heroics to continue winning start

Desert Vipers continued their winning start to ILT20 2025-26, overcoming Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in a thrilling encounter in Sharjah. They successfully chased down a target of 175 with three balls and two wickets to spare. Shimron Hetmyer's quickfire 48 off 25 balls, along with a blistering 12-ball 31* from Khuzaima Tanveer, took the Vipers home.

Sent in to bat, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders' openers Phil Salt and Alex Hales provided a decent start of 39 for 0 in five overs. Qais Ahmed dropped Salt off Naseem Shah in the fifth over but redeemed himself by taking Salt's wicket with his first ball in the next over.

Hales continued aggressively, bringing up his fifty with a six. He put on a 63-run stand with Alishan Sharafu before both fell to Noor Ahmad in quick succession. Sherfane Rutherford and Liam Livingstone fell cheaply as ADKR slipped to 125 for 5 in 15 overs.

Andre Russell then scored 36 off 23 balls, taking a liking to Tanveer in an 18-run 18th over to push the total to 171 for 6.

In reply, Andries Gous smashed four boundaries in the first over for the Vipers. However, Fakhar Zaman and Max Holden fell cheaply, leaving the Vipers at 34 for 3. Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence rebuilt with a 32-run partnership before Curran fell to Piyush Chawla.

Shimron Hetmyer then launched a counter-attack, punishing the ADKR bowlers. He pulled Sunil Narine for two sixes. ADKR fought back with quick wickets of Lawrence, Hasan Nawaz, and finally Hetmyer to Russell, leaving the Vipers at 143 for 7.

With the game in the balance, Khuzaima Tanveer played a match-winning knock of 31* off 12 balls. He finished the chase with a six and a four to seal victory for the Vipers.

Brief Scores:
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 171/6 in 20 overs (Alex Hales 53, Andre Russell 36*; Qais Ahmed 2-29, Noor Ahmad 2-35) lost to Desert Vipers 175/8 in 19.3 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 48, Khuzaima Tanveer 31*; Ajay Kumar 3-21, Sunil Narine 2-35) by 2 wickets.