Romario Shepherd of MI Emirates during the match SHARJAH: MI Emirates suffered a late scare but eventually managed it courtesy an impressive finish from Romario Shepherd as they secured a four-run victory over Sharjah Warriorz in the ILT20 here on Sunday. UAE star Muhammad Waseem was the top performer for MI Emirates as he scored 39 in 29 balls including two fours and as many sixes.
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However, it was Tom Banton (32 off 21) and Shepherd who smashed an unbeaten 31 off 10 balls that paved the way for MI’s win at the Emirates after they posted 185 to ensure Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Sikander Raza’s half-centuries came to nothing. With the ball, Adil Rashid took 3 for 32 for the Warriors. MI Emirates batted first and got off to a cautious start as Jonny Bairstow (37 off 24) hit the first six of the innings only in the third over. That shot sparked a brief surge as they reached 49 for no loss at the end of the powerplay before Junaid Siddique took the wicket of Bairstow in the next over. Waseem then took charge of the batting, turning the strike and finding the odd boundary, but Adil Rashid turned the game on its head by dismissing Nicholas Pooran (5 off 12) and removing Waseem two balls later. At 119/3 after 15 overs, MI Emirates needed a strong finish and Banton and Shepherd provided the impetus. The Warriorz were 48/3 at the end of their over. Kohler-Cadmore and Raza then shared a 103-run stand in just 59 balls before Allah Ghazanfar provided the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing the Zimbabwean. He then struck again right off the next delivery to Dwaine Pretorius to seal the two-wicket maiden and give MI Emirates a chance of victory. Shepherd then closed out the game in the final with brilliant death bowling to secure his team’s first win of the season.
