Alsop steers Gulf Giants to six-wicket win over Sharjah Warriorz

Khaleej Times

26-01-2025

Tom Alsop played a blinder as he struck an unbeaten 85 to propel the Gulf Giants to a six-wicket win against the Sharjah Warriorz in the ILT20 Season 3 clash at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday evening.
Alsop was the architect of the Gulf Giants' chase as he held his bat to see through the win alongside Tom Curran as the two Englishmen put up a match-winning stand of 65 for their second win on the trot.
Chasing 172 was always going to be tricky, but Alsop and James Vince did splendidly well to get the Gulf Giants going. The duo hit six fours between them in the first three overs to make their intentions clear, but their impressive partnership of 42 was cut short by Dilshan Madushanka when Vince was undone by a short ball.
Alsop was joined by Jordan Cox in the middle and they put up 22 for the second wicket before Cox was dismissed. Alsop, though, was unperturbed on the other end as he played one of the best innings of his career.
He took the bowlers to the cleaners as the Gulf Giants racked up 88 runs in the first 10 overs, well-poised to chase down the target. Alsop brought up his first fifty in the ILT20 off 44 balls and with the pressure rising, his calm head prevailed as he steered his side closer to the target.
Gerhard Erasmus (10) and Shimron Hetmyer (12) fell without troubling the scorers much and that threatened to derail the Gulf Giants' chase, but the 16th over swiftly swung the momentum in their favour. Curran chipped in with a couple of boundaries and Alsop dispatched one into the stands as Madushanka conceded 18 and the Gulf Giants needed 40 off 24.
Alsop and Curran were not to be stopped as they motored on, playing sensible cricket to get the job done. They picked on Adam Milne in the 18th over and hit him for 16 runs, as they raced closer to the target. Alsop brought his A-Game to the fore to hit an unbeaten 85 as the Gulf Giants sealed a comprehensive victory in Sharjah.
Earlier, the Gulf Giants opted to bowl and restricted Warriorz to 171/6 in 20 overs despite Jason Roy's 44.
Blessing Muzarabani (3 for 32) was the pick of the bowlers for the Giants.