Tight win helps Sharjah Warriorz finally get off the mark

Johnson Charles starred with the bat to help Sharjah Warriorz snap their three-match losing streak in ILT20 2025-26 and fetch their first win of the season. The opener's 77 set the base for Warriorz's match-winning 174/3 before MI Emirates were restricted to 168/5 despite Nicholas Pooran's late hitting.

Incidentally, it was Pooran's early struggles that had stalled the momentum for the Emirates. The openers put on a brisk 68-run partnership in seven overs before Sikandar Raza had Jonny Bairstow caught on 31 off 23. Pooran, coming in at one-down, struggled to get his timing right. Consequently, the asking rate started to climb.

Muhammad Waseem, after contributing a 29-ball 44, fell trying to make up and the Emirates' middle-order crumbled. Tom Banton, Kieron Pollard and Romario Shepherd all fell in quick succession, leaving Emirates at 98/4 at the start of the 15th over. Junaid Siddique bagged two in that mini collapse.

Tajinder Dhillon injected some much-needed momentum during his brief stay in the middle - hitting 24 off just 13 - before he had to retire hurt. That left MIE 25 to get in the final over, and while Pooran finally came to the party with three sixes in the space of six balls, the total proved just enough for Sharjah to bag their first points of the season.

Warriorz had Charles to thank for the early fireworks on a wicket that wasn't the easiest to find the strokes on. Put in to bat first, Charles led the team to a strong total. He did the bulk of the scoring in the 112-run opening stand with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, hitting seven boundaries and four maximums in his 53-ball match-winning knock.

Skipper Raza (29 off 22) and James Rew (24* off 14) provided the finishing touches, albeit the 173 did feel below par for the amount of damage Warriorz could have inflicted with eight wickets in hand at the start of the death overs. Emirates bowlers helped claw back once the opening partnership was broken, allowing Warriorz only 25 in the final-three. However, a good bowling display from Warriorz ensured it was adequate in the end.

Brief scores: Sharjah Warriorz 174/3 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 77, Tom Kohler-Cadmore 30; Rashid Khan 1-22) beat MI Emirates 168/5 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 48*, Muhammad Waseem 44; Sikandar Raza 2-15, Junaid Siddique 2-35) by 6 runs