Abu Dhabi: Chris Gayle’s pulverized the Maratha Arabians bowling attack to crack an unbeaten 84 off 22 balls with powerfully executed nine sixes and six boundaries to steer Team Abu Dhabi to a nine-wicket win in the second match of the third day of the Super League in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (February 3).
Chasing Maratha Arabians’ moderate total of 97 for 4, Gayle helped his team reach the target in 5.3 overs and win the match with 27 balls to spare. Gayle, known as the Universe Boss, dominated the attack. He was in his elements from the first over, ravaging any error in line and length from the bowlers. All his sixes and boundaries were hit so effortlessly that it was a treat to watch his power and panache. Incidentally, 78 runs out of his 84 came through boundaries. He reached his half century in 12 balls and equaled the fastest half century in T10 history held by Mohammad Shahzad for Rajputs in the 2018 edition.
View this post on Instagram
Jamie Overton got Mukhtar out by top edging him to mid-wicket for 14. Mohammad Hafeez joined Sharafu and picked a boundary off Naveen Ul Haq. Sharafu hit Haq to deep mid-wicket for his second six. In the fifth over, Sharafu flicked Jamie Overton’s first delivery of the fifth over to the boundary and hit the next for a six over backward square leg. He also hit the last ball of that over to the deep square leg boundary to take 17 runs off the over.
Chasing the easy target, Gayle gave Abu Dhabi a flying start. He hit Yamin Ahmadzai for three consecutive boundaries and a six to get 18 runs off the over. Opener Paul Stirling too hit Sompal Kami for two consecutive boundaries of the first two balls of the second over. Gayle hit the fourth, fifth and sixth deliveries for sixes to take 27 runs off the over. After Mosaddek Hossain picked the wicket of Stirling with the second ball of the third over, Gayle then went on to hit the next four balls for two boundaries and two sixes.
Arabians introduced UAE 16-year-old Maroof Merchant into the attack. Though he bowled the first four balls tightly, Gayle hit his last two deliveries for sixes. Ishan Malhotra gave away only ten runs in the fifth over. Gayle hit the third ball of the sixth over from Mukhtar over mid-wicket to reach the target to the relief of all bowlers and fielders.
Brief scores: Team Abu Dhabi 100 for 1 in 5.3 overs (Chris Gayle 84n.0) beat Maratha Arabians 97 for 4 in 10 overs (Alishan Sharafu 33, Mohammad Hafeez 20, Obed McCoy 2 for 20) by nine wickets.
Qalandars VS Bangla Tigers
The mighty Qalandars extend their winning run by scuttling Bangla Tigers’ spirited show in the first match of the third day of the Super League in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. Qalandars recorded an exciting seven-runs win to register their fifth win in five matches.
Tigers did well to restrict Qalandars to 104 for 3 despite skipper Sohail Akhtar’s unbeaten 49 and Ben Dunk’s 31 runs. Tigers tried their best to pull off a victory but Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Zahid with two wickets each, backed by Chris Jordan’s Ahmed Daniyal’s tight overs, upset their plans. Tigers introduced Sri Lanka’s 18-year-old medium pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who wavered in his length, and Akhtar smashed him for two consecutive boundaries to take 18 runs off that over. Akthar was severe on Mujeeb Ur Rehman too by hitting him also for two consecutive boundaries. At the half way mark, Qalandars were 49 for 1.
View this post on Instagram
Sharjeel flicked Karim Janat’s first delivery of the sixth over for a six. In the same over, Janat had Sharjeel caught by Andre Fletcher at mid-off for 15. Akhtar continued his big hits by lifting Fazal Farooqi for a six over long on. Ben Dunk too picked a boundary to take 13 runs off that over. Still runs did not flow freely like Qalandars would have wanted. Qaiz Ahmed bowled a tight eighth over giving away just seven runs.
Chasing the target of 105 runs, Tigers opener Johnson Charles hit Sultan Ahmed for three consecutive boundaries in the first over. Sohail Tanvir forced Charles to top edge him to Banton at mid-off for 12 in the second over. He gave away just two runs in that over. Opener and captain Andre Fletcher too departed in the third over from Ahmed Daniyal by edging to Shahid Afridi at short third man for 2. Daniyal too gave away just five runs.
Chirag Suri and Tom Moores tried their best to accelerate the run rate. Suri had hit Daniyal for a boundary in the third over while Moores hit Afridi for a six and a boundary. They picked 14 runs off Afridi’s fourth over. Daniyal again bowled a tight fifth over giving away just seven runs resulting in Tigers needing another 65 runs in the last five overs.
With 23 runs needed off the last 12 overs, the accurate Jordan clean bowled next man Afif Hossain with the first ball for a duck and yielded just two runs. Qalandars introduced Mohammad Zahid again with 21 runs needed off the last six balls. He trapped Moores leg before with the first ball. Qais hit the next ball for a boundary and followed it up with a six too. Zahid gave away just one run off the last two balls to stop Tigers from reaching the target.
Brief scores: Qalandars 104 for 3 in 10 overs (Sohail Akhtar 49n,o, Ben Dunk 31) beat Bangla Tigers 97 for 6 in 10 overs (Tom Moores 39, Sohail Tanvir 2 for 20 Mohammad Zahid 2 for 28) by seven runs.
Pune Devils VS Northern Warriors
Northern Warriors’ in-form UAE domestic cricketer Waseem Muhammad once again stole the thunder through a whirlwind unbeaten 56 runs off 13 balls to overpower Pune Devils by eight wickets in the third match of the third day of the Super League in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Waseem equaled the T10 record for the fastest half century in 12 balls which was set by Chris Gayle in the second match of the day and by Mohammad Shahzad for Rajputs in the 2018 edition. Waseem hit seven towering sixes and three boundaries. His sixes made every bowler look like putting on a wasteful effort. He hammered the attack so mercilessly that Warriors raced to the target with 33 balls to spare.
Wayne Parnell, who bowled the sixth over, had UAE’s Vriitya Aravind caught at extra cover for 1. Parnell also clean bowled Alex Davies for 16. Six wickets down for 66 in 5.4 overs, Nasir Hossain hit Siddique for a boundary and a six in the eighth over to take 13 runs off the over.
Warriors’ in-form opener Waseem Ahmed picked a boundary off the third ball of the first over from Munis Ansari to launch his onslaught. He followed it up with a straight six to take 17 runs off the first over. Waseem hit left-arm spinner Monir Hossain’s first delivery of the second over for a six. He also hit the third and fourth deliveries for sixes and steered the fifth ball for another boundary. He then lifted the last ball for a six to take 35 runs off the over. The half century partnership came in just two overs with Waseem on 49 off 11 balls.
Opener Brandon King, who got just one run in the partnership, hit Karan for three boundaries and a six in the third over to take 19 runs off that over. Yorkshire’s 19-year-old left-arm spinner Sam Wisniewski had King stumped with his first delivery. Pooran hit the first delivery he faced for a six. While trying to hit another six, he got caught at long off to the third ball. Waseem hit Sam for a six over long on. Ruwman Powell lifted his team to the target with two successive sixes and win the match in 4.3 overs and remain unbeaten on 14.
Brief scores: Northern Warriors 98 for 2 in 4.3 overs (Brandon King 20, Waseem Muhammad 56n.o) beat Pune Devils 97 for 8 in 10 overs (Tom Kohler- Cadmore 20, Kennar Lewis 24, Nasir Hossain 27n.o, Wahab Riaz 2 for 20, Wayne Parnell 3 for 5) by eight wickets.
