Dubai: Johnson Charles ignited the Dubai International Stadium, leading the Sharjah Warriorz to a resounding nine-wicket victory on Tuesday night. His breathtaking 71 off 33 balls set up a flawless run chase in only 11.5 overs as the Warriorz maintained their undefeated record against the Dubai Capitals in the DP World ILT20.

An impactful show from the spinners including two wickets for 28 runs from Adam Zampa restricted the Dubai Capitals to 131/9. The result gives the Warriorz’s net run-rate a significant boost, keeping them firmly in the fray for a playoff berth.

The powerplay made the chase a mere formality as Johnson Charles and Tom Kohler-Cadmore dominated the bowling to set the highest powerplay score of the season. The pair raced to 79, with Charles in particular wreaking havoc to smash five towering sixes, including a remarkable 24-run over off Zahir Khan.

Charles brought up his fifty in 21 balls, studded with six sixes and two fours. He continued his rampage until he was halted by Sikandar Raza in the 11th over. Charles departed after striking three fours and eight sixes, which included a combination of power hitting, deft touches and switch-hits.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore wrapped up proceedings in the next over with a clever boundary off Dushmantha Chameera. The Englishman finished with 54 runs in 32 balls, smashing eight fours and two sixes on his way there.

Charles, who won the Player of the Match award, said: “They got off to a bit of a flyer, but I love playing in Dubai because the conditions tend to get a bit skiddier, which suits my style. I thought Ashton Agar and Rohan Mustafa bowled exceptionally well and complemented each other perfectly. We managed to put the opposition under pressure. Ash and I have played a lot together in the past, and it’s always a pleasure to play alongside him. It felt almost nostalgic since we haven’t had many opportunities to play together recently.”

Earlier in the day, Adam Rossington bludgeoned a six and two fours as the powerplay saw 55 runs for the Capitals. Shai Hope played second fiddle to Rossington until the latter was accounted for by Adam Zampa in the seventh over for 37 runs in 23 balls.

Dubai Capitals captain, Raza said: “I thought we were traditional in our batting. We needed more sweeps, reverse sweeps and switch hits. We went into a shell rather than being aggressive. Johnson is a fantastic player and done that to many teams; it was quite hard to bowl at him. He played a lot of great shots. One bad game is not going to derail us. We will try to get this game out of system and winning the next two is the target.”

Sharjah Warriorz beat Dubai Capitals by nine wickets. Dubai Capitals 131/9 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 45, Adam Rossington 37, Rovman Powell 32 not out, Rohan Mustafa 2 for 12, Adam Zampa 2 for 28) Sharjah Warriorz 135/1 in 11.5 overs (Johnson Charles 71, Tom Kohler-Cadmore 54 not out, Sikandar Raza 1 for 9).

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