Johnson Charles' breezy 93 secured Sharjah Warriors a five-wicket win over Dubai Capitals in the fifth match of the DP World ILT20 Season 2.
Charles set a solid pace by recording a 71-run partnership with Lewis Gregory (16) and a 29-run stand with UAE’s Basil Hameed, chasing a target of 171 runs. He hit six sixers and eight boundaries in his 51-ball knock.
Hameed, through an unbeaten 24, and Daniel Sams (16n.o), carried their team to the victory with seven balls to spare.
"This pitch was very good, bit more bounce, which meant a lot more leeway. Just had to make the most of the powerplay, which we did. I just want to keep it going. As we age, we get better, like fine wine, so I want to get better. Very important to get good starts in the powerplay, you get on top of the opposition," said Charles.
Winning captain Tom Kohler-Cadmore said it felt "nice to get your first win out of the way".
"Great to see the boys putting their hands up and winning the game for us. Whenever we needed a boundary, Basil Hameed came up clutch for us; it's great to see we've got a full squad of players. I believe we've got 20 guys who can win games for us," he added.
Commenting on his team’s defeat, David Warner said: "Toss is a key component to this ground. Lots of dew here. We left a few runs out there, myself included. They bowled really well to me in the powerplay. It's always tough when you bat first here.We bowled way too many bad balls to Johnson."
Final scores:
Dubai Capitals - David Warner 20, Sam Billings 52, Sikandar Raza 48, Chris Woakes 2 for 21, Daniel Sams 3 for 28, Mahesh Theekshana 2 for 32
Sharjah Warriors - Johnson Charles 93, Basil Hameed 24n.o, Dushmantha Chameera 4 for 28
Player of the Match: Johnson Charles