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A stunning five-wicket haul from veteran David Wiese wrecked Sharjah Warriors in the final league of the inaugural ILT20 that eventually ended their playoff qualification hopes. Wiese’s performance saw Warriors collapse for just 107 in a crucial game and Giants then proceeded to chase down the target with ease to win by seven wickets.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a six in the very first over of the game to signal his intentions but was stopped by Sanchit Sharma. However, it was Tom Kohler-Cadmore who threatened to get away with the game as he went on an assault in the powerplay. He ripped apart Tom Helm to smash three fours and a six off four successive deliveries to race to 33 off 18 before Helm got his revenge.

From thereon, things went downhill as Carlos Brathwaite got rid of Moeen Ali with a bouncer before Wiese got into the act. He trapped Evin Lewis lbw in his first over before delivering a killer blow in his second over that saw him remove Marcus Stoinis, Joe Denly and Chris Woakes to stun the opposition camp. From 65/4, they were reduced to 67/7 in the matter of six deliveries before Wiese returned in the end to add Mohammad Nabi’s scalp as well to complete his five-fer.

A target of 108 was never going to threaten the Giants who wiped off 18 of those in the first two overs. Stoinis did breach Tom Banton’s defence in the powerplay to give his side a breakthrough but by the halfway mark, Giants already had 60 on the board and were hoping for a miracle. Those hopes quickly evaporated as Colin de Grandhomme smashed a couple of sixes to bring down the equation. Even though Junaid Siddique stopped the veteran and dismissed James Vince in the same over, there were no concerns in the Giants camp as they got the job done with 21 balls to spare.

Brief scores: Sharjah Warriors 107 in 18.3 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 33; David Wiese 5/20, Carlos Brathwaite 2/15) lost to Gulf Giants 108/3 in 16.3 overs (Colin de Grandhomme 35, James Vince 27; Junaid Siddique 2/27) by 7 wickets

The afternoon session in Bulawayo saw Tagenarine Chanderpaul convert his maiden Test hundred into a double, a milestone that West Indies counted to before declaring on 447/6.

Right after lunch, Brandon Mavuta struck in his consecutive overs to get rid of Riefer and Blackwood. Tagenarine, though, kept the runs coming and even hit a six off Wellington Masakadza. Roston Chase perished in pursuit of quick runs too but the intent from West Indies fetched 61 runs in the first hour albeit at the cost of four wickets.

Shortly after drinks, Chanderpaul got to his double with a six off Masakadza over mid-off and West Indies declared after the over, setting a tall task in front of the hosts.

Zimbabwe openers got through to Tea unscathed, with Inncoent Kaia even pinching his first Test runs. Both Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach found swing and threatened the edge in the 10-over period.

Earlier in the morning, steady run-scoring saw the West Indies opener press the accelerator and set the side up for over 153 runs in the first session of the day. Kraigg Brathwaite ended up with a mighty 182 whereas Tagenarine Chanderpaul, then batting on 161*, stole the show with his discipline as West Indies racked up their highest ever opening stand (336) in Test cricket.

Chanderpaul picked his lines well and hit his first boundary off the middle only in the latter half of the session. He got a lifeline immediately after getting to his 150 when Chibhabha dropped a catch at fine leg off the bowling of Brandon Mavuta. Having started the session on a steady note, Chanderpaul grew in confidence and intent as the session progressed. Brathwaite, on the other hand, walked in with some readymade intent and hit three consecutive boundaries off Ngarava in the third over of the day. He went after Mavuta too and brought up his 150 in the spinner’s first over.

Like Chanderpaul, Brathwaite was reprieved once, when he was on 167 and Mavuta failed to grab a sharp return chance. But Zimbabwe were able to get him and finally pick a wicket when Wellington Masakadza’s arm ball got the better of Brathwaite’s sweep and struck him plumb in front. Kyle Mayers hit a couple of sixes and a boundary in his 24-ball 20 but was bowled by a ripping delivery from Mavuta that burst through between the bat and pad.

Brief Scores : West Indies 447/6 dec/ (Chanderpaul 207*, Brathwaite 182; Mavuta 5-140) lead Zimbabwe 21/0 by 426 runs

After a few sessions of immaculate but steady run-scoring, the third morning in Bulawayo saw the West Indies openers press the accelerator and set the side up for over 153 runs in the session. Kraigg Brathwaite ended up with a mighty 182 whereas Tagenarine Chanderpaul, batting on 161*, stole the show with his discipline as West Indies racked up their highest-ever opening stand (336) in Test cricket.

Chanderpaul picked his lines well and hit his first boundary off the middle only in the latter half of the session. He got a lifeline immediately after getting to his 150 when Chibhabha dropped a catch at fine leg off the bowling of Brandon Mavuta. Having started the session on a steady note, Chanderpaul grew in confidence and intent as the session progressed. Brathwaite, on the other hand, walked in with some readymade intent and hit three consecutive boundaries off Ngarava in the third over of the day. He went after Mavuta too and brought up his 150 in the spinner’s first over.

Like Chanderpaul, Brathwaite was reprieved once, when he was on 167 and Mavuta failed to grab a sharp return chance. But Zimbabwe were able to get him and finally pick a wicket when Wellington Masakadza’s arm ball got the better of Brathwaite’s sweep and struck him plumb in front. Kyle Mayers hit a couple of sixes and a boundary in his 24-ball 20 but was bowled by a ripping delivery from Mavuta that burst through between the bat and pad.

Brief Scores : West Indies 374/2 (Brathwaite 182, Chanderpaul 161*; Masakadza 1-53, Mavuta 1-99) vs Zimbabwe

Ireland pacer Joshua Little will miss the upcoming Bangladesh and Sri Lanka tours due to his franchise commitments.

Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie confirmed the development to Cricbuzz on Sunday adding that he is expecting Little to be available when they take on Bangladesh in the Super League games at their own backyard in May.

Josh is currently playing in the SA20 for Pretoria Capitals while he is picked by Multan Sultan for the upcoming Pakistan Super League and Gujarat Titans in the forthcoming Indian Premier League.

“Josh had an amazing 12 to 18 months and that is shown getting picked up in the South African League in the IPL and the PSL and these opportunities are incredible,” Balbirnie, who is playing for Khulna Tigers in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, told Cricbuzz.

“We are going to miss him (Josh). He is not going to come here and play in the Bangladesh tour and he is not going to Sri Lanka for the Test tour and he will be back for Super League games against Bangladesh in May” he said.

“His opportunity to play in the IPL is really too good for him to turn down and it only helps Irish cricket I think that exposure. If he has a good IPL or PSL then those competitions will say well Ireland cricket must be going in the right direction. We wish him all the best and I watched him last night,” he said.

Ireland will kickstart their upcoming tour of Bangladesh with a three-match ODI series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Ireland are also scheduled to play three T20Is at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. The visitors then will conclude the series with a one-off Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

According to the draft itinerary prepared by the board, the three ODIs are scheduled to be played on March 18, 20 and 23 in SICS. Following the ODIs, the T20Is are expected to take place on March 27, 29 and 31. The Test match is scheduled to be played between April 4 to 8. Following the Bangladesh tour, Ireland will travel to Sri Lanka in April to play one Test and two ODIs.

West Indies tightened their grip on the Bulawayo Test with a thoroughly dominating performance on the third day, which saw them first rack up 447/6 declared and then reduce Zimbabwe to 114/3 by Stumps.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the star of the day, having converted his overnight ton into a big unbeaten double hundred. He was steady to start the day, allowing Kraigg Brathwaite to take charge, with whom he added 336 runs for the first wicket. It was West Indies’s highest opening stand in Test cricket.

Brathwaite, who scored 182 before he was trapped lbw by Wellington Masakadza, set the tone early and hit three consecutive boundaries off Ngarava in the third over of the day. He went after Mavuta too and brought up his 150 in the spinner’s first over. Largely thanks to him, WI accumulated 153 in the morning session. Chanderpaul, on the other hand, played the ideal foil and picked his deliveries well. He hit his first boundary closer to Lunch and even got a reprieve on 150 when Chibhabha dropped a catch at fine leg off the bowling of Mavuta. Brathwaite, too was let off on 167 as Mavuta failed to grab a sharp return chance.

Chanderpaul picked up his scoring in the second session, growing in confidence and intent as the session progressed. He got to his double ton with a six while he was on 199*, smoking Masakadza over mid-off.

The only time Zimbabwe appeared to be in the game was in the middle session, when WI lost four wickets in the first hour in pursuit of quick runs. Mavuta struck in his consecutive overs to get rid of Riefer and Blackwood. Tagenarine, though, kept the runs coming and even hit a six off Wellington Masakadza. Roston Chase perished in pursuit of quick runs too but the intent from West Indies fetched 61 runs.

In response, Zimbabwe openers got through to Tea unscathed, with Inncoent Kaia even pinching his first Test runs. He went on to finish the day on 59* on his debut. Along with Tanunurwa Makoni, Kaia added 63 for the first wicket before the former was caught at first slip while trying to drive a delivery from Alzarri Joseph. Chibhabha was nicked off by Gudakesh Motie but the real blow was the wicket of captain Craig Ervine on the stroke of Stumps; he was bowled by a nippy delivery from Brathwaite.

Brief Scores: West Indies 447/6 dec/ (Chanderpaul 207*, Brathwaite 182; Mavuta 5-140) lead Zimbabwe 114/3 (Kaia 59*; Brathwaite 1-5) by 333 runs