Pakistan bowler came up with the ‘Pushpa’ celebration in the ILT20 2025 match between Desert Vipers and Sharjah Warriorz on Wednesday.
Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa’ has become a global sensation and plenty of international cricketers have become a fan of his special gesture. Earlier it was former Australia cricketer David Warner who started the trend of ‘Pushpa’ celebration and now it has spread across the border from India as well.
Top Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir bought out the ‘Pushpa’ celebration in the ongoing ILT20 2025 tournament on Wednesday night. The Desert Vipers fast bowler first dismissed Johnson Charles of Sharjah Warriorz and followed it up with the wicket of Avishka Fernando and then dismissed UAE’s Rohan Mustafa caught by Sam Curran off a leading edge at mid-off.
After dismissed Mustafa for his third wicket, Amir bought out the ‘Pushpa’ celebration which went viral on social media. The Pakistan left-arm pacer ended up with 4 wickets for 24 as the Warriorz were dismissed for 91.
WATCH Mohammad Amir’s ‘Pushpa’ celebration HERE…
Wicket no. 3! pic.twitter.com/3vXuEghwye
— Zee Cricket (@ilt20onzee) January 22, 2025
Player of the match, Mohammad Amir said this about the ‘Pushpa’ celebration: “As a new-ball bowler, you try to swing the ball. I believe you have to bowl according to the wicket and hit the right areas. You need to adapt as quickly as you can to conditions, as a bowler. I saw the movie Pushpa 2 last week and the hero did that, so I was doing the same (on his celebration). We have got a great bowling unit.”
The Desert Vipers got back to winning ways at Season 3 of the DP World ILT20 as they put up a scintillating performance to outclass the Sharjah Warriorz, and clinch a massive 10-wicket victory at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday. The Desert Vipers rode on Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 71 and Mohammad Amir’s four-wicket haul to cruise to an emphatic win that consolidated their position atop the standings.
Meanwhile, the Desert Vipers wasted no time in their chase as Alex Hales got them off to a flyer with a flurry of boundaries. He clobbered Tim Southee for three fours and then smashed Adam Milne for a maximum as the side raced to 20/0 inside the first two overs. Zaman joined in on the action with some clean hitting as he went after Bangladeshi pacer Junaid Siddique in his first over. He went across the stump and cut him away for a boundary and then struck a beautiful pull shot for four more.
Zaman was in his groove and seemed to have a simple target – to not let the bowlers settle in. He went after Ashton Agar, hitting him for a massive six with a massive slog sweep. The Pakistani batter darted down the track for the next delivery and hit it straight past the bowler as the Desert Vipers put up 47 runs after five overs. At the same stage in the first innings, the Sharjah Warriorz were 18/4.
The gulf in batting was evident as the required run rate dipped below three runs an over and the Desert Vipers’ batsmen made merry in the middle. Hales was happy to play the supporting role while Zaman fired on all cylinders. He targetted Siddique again in the seventh over, using all his might to muscle the ball over long on and into the stands. Zaman brought up his half-century soon after, his second of the season, in 30 balls.
It was a matter of time before the Desert Vipers chased down the target and Zaman accelerated that process by executing a textbook slog-sweep to hit Agar for six and followed that up with a lovely six over long-on to wrap up the contest in style. Zaman finished on an impressive 71 not out in 39 balls while the Desert Vipers clinched a commanding 10-wicket victory.
Earlier, the Desert Vipers won the toss and chose to bowl. That proved to be a brilliant decision as Amir weaved his magic with the new ball. The Pakistani pacer needed just four deliveries to make his intentions clear as Johnson Charles flicked it off his pads straight to Dan Lawrence along the ropes at deep backward square. Amir would pick up two wickets in his first over as he sent Avishka Fernando back to the pavilion too.
Amir came back to haunt the Sharjah Warriorz batting line-up as he made full use of the pitch. A slightly shorter delivery undid Rohan Mustafa, who tried to flick it away on the leg side, but only got a leading edge and Sam Curran took a simple catch. The Sharjah Warriorz were in a precarious position at this point, struggling at 15/3 after three overs.
Amir came back to claim a fourth and with it, the Sharjah Warriorz were bundled out for 91 in 19.1 overs. Amir finished with an impressive 4/24, which is the best bowling performance in the Desert Vipers’ history. Hasaranga also claimed a piece of history as his 3/10 was the most economical four-over spell in ILT20.
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