Sharjah, Jan 28 (IANS): Gulf Giants secured their third win of the ILT20 2024-25 campaign after clinching a thrilling six-wicket win against the Sharjah Warriorz courtesy of a match-winning knock from Tom Alsop. This is the second consecutive win this season for the Adani Sportsline-owned franchise and gives the team a significant boost toward their quest for the playoffs.

Alsop’s unbeaten 85 off 60 balls helped Gulf Giants chase down the 172-run target with three balls to spare. His knock is now also the highest individual score by a Gulf Giants batter in the ILT20, surpassing James Vince’s previous best of 76 runs.

Reflecting on his match-winning performance, Tom Alsop stated, “It was pleasing (to get the team over the line). I think the situation dictated the way things panned out. We obviously wanted to try and get some partnerships going and then unfortunately, we lost a few wickets in clusters in that middle period. It was my responsibility to see it through. Happy that we got the win.”

After winning the toss, the Gulf Giants opted to bowl first, restricting the Sharjah Warriorz to a total of 171/6, courtesy of a splendid bowling performance from Blessing Muzarabani. The tall fast bowler from Zimbabwe bagged figures of 3/32 and was well supported by Mark Adair and Daniel Worrall, who finished with figures of 1/25 and 1/32 respectively.

Speaking on his team’s performance, Alsop reckoned, “We chose to bowl first and our bowlers pulled things back after the powerplay brilliantly. In the second innings, we saw that there was very little margin for error for the bowlers and the dew started to come down, so they were drying the ball a lot. It was obviously very tricky bowling conditions, and it was a bit easier to try and chase.”

The victory against Sharjah Warriorz gives the Gulf Giants a significant boost in their attempts to make it through to the playoffs this season. Alsop mentioned that the back-to-back wins will give his team some momentum going forward in the tournament.

“It will help us massively. We had a gritty game against MI Emirates the other night, and we managed to come out on the right side of that and we just talked about trying to use that momentum. We brought that momentum here and got the win. So, we’ll try and keep that going.”

This is Alsop’s first taste of the ILT20, and he credited the league for the high standards it has set across the UAE. He said, “It’s my first time here. I’ve looked at the league and now experiencing it, the standard is unbelievably high. Last night, we were playing against the best T20 batter in the world, the best spin bowler in the world. So, the competition itself and the standard is fantastic.”

Gulf Giants will take on the table toppers, Desert Vipers in their next match on Wednesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.