Abu Dhabi: Team Abu Dhabi ousted Bangla Tigers by 21 runs through Paul Stirling’s unbeaten 64 and Jamie Overton’s deadly four-wicket spell in a battle for the play-off spot in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Thursday (February 4).
Abu Dhabi posted 116 for 3 through Stirling’s knock that came off 32 balls with four sixes and five boundaries. Skipper Luke Wright too chipped in with 27 runs. Matheesha Pathirana, an 18-year-old medium-pacer from Sri Lanka, bowled tightly to take two wickets for nine runs to put the brakes on Abu Dhabi. After Abu Dhabi posted 71 runs in the first five overs, they could muster only 45 runs in the next five overs.
View this post on Instagram
Chasing the target, Tigers’ opener Johnson Charles lit up hopes of a victory through a quick knock of 59 runs off 23 balls with eight boundaries and three sixes. Once he fell, the rest of the batsmen followed quickly. Obed McCoy and Naveen Ul Haq’s two wickets each, piled up the pressure. Rohan Mustafa too bowled brilliantly to give away just nine runs from his two overs. Overton then crushed Tigers’ hopes by taking four wickets.
Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled a tight sixth over giving away just four runs. Pathirana gave away two boundaries to Stirling in his seventh over. Abu Dhabi reached the 100 run mark in the eighth over. In the ninth over, Pathirana picked the wicket of Wright with the second delivery by having him caught at long-on for 27. With the fourth delivery, he had Joe Clarke caught at short third man for a duck.
Tigers began their chase with Johnson Charles pulling the first ball from Tom Helm to the boundary. He again pulled him for two successive boundaries off the fourth and fifth deliveries and flicked the last delivery for another boundary to take 18 runs off the over. Rohan Mustafa gave away only seven runs off the second over. In the third over, When Charles was on 22, he top edged Obed McCoy to Naveen Ul Haq at backward square leg, but Haq dropped the catch. With the next ball, McCoy picked the wicket of Andre Fletcher by having him caught at long-on for 3. Chirag Suri too quickly followed when Overton trapped him leg before for 2.
The mantle of getting 34 runs from the last 12 balls fell on Karim Janat and Adam Hose. Janat hit Naveen high to Overton at long-on to be out for a duck. Naveen also picked the wicket of Qais Ahmed with the fourth ball of the over by having him caught at mid-wicket for another duck. With 31 runs needed off the last over, Overton bowled a brilliant last over, taking the wickets of Garton and Mujeeb off successive deliveries, and then Farooqi’s wicket with the last ball of the match.
Brief scores: Team Abu Dhabi 116/3 in 10 overs (Paul Stirling 64, Luke Wright 27, Matheesha Pathirana 2 for 9) beat Bangla Tigers 95/9 in 10 overs (Johnson Charles 59, Obed McCoy 2 for 10, Jamie Overton 4 for 24, Naveen Ul Haq 2 for 20) by 21 runs.
Delhi Bulls VS Qalandars
Through a spirited show, Delhi Bulls snapped Qalandars’ winning streak in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. Bulls restricted Qalandars’ formidable batting to 107 for 6 and raced to a morale boosting nine-wicket win with 16 balls to spare in the second match of the fourth day of the Super League.
Opener Evin Lewis cracked an unbeaten 48 off just 18 balls with five sixes and three boundaries. Ravi Bopara remained unconquered on 37 off 15 balls with two sixes and five boundaries. Bulls will now take on Northern Warriors in the first qualifier. Sharjeel escaped being caught at his score on 5 when Lewis at mid-wicket dropped him off Fidel Edwards. The drop did not prove costly as Edwards clean bowled Sharjeel for 7 with the fifth ball of that over. Skipper Sohail Akhthar and opener Tom Banton picked one boundary each off Maqsood’s third over.
View this post on Instagram
Nyeem Young, a 20-year-old pacer from Barbados gave away eight runs in the sixth over. Banton hit Bravo for two consecutive boundaries but he got run out off the last delivery. Young produced a direct throw to the bowler’s end to end Banton’s knock of 26 runs. Young then went on to dismiss Ahmed Daniyal, caught at backward point, for 7. The accurate Shiraz was introduced for the ninth over and he gave away only a boundary to Chris Jordan. Edwards, who bowled the tenth over, clean bowled Jordan with a full toss for 18. Next man Samit Patel pulled him for a boundary and also lifted him for a straight six. He hit the last delivery to the long-off boundary and get 20 runs for his team off that over. Patil remained unconquered on 18 runs from five deliveries.
Ravi Bopara hit Jordan for a six to long-on to steer the team past the 50 run mark in 3.1 overs. Lewis did not spare the accurate Jordan too and hit him for a six to mid-off to take 16 runs off the over. Bopara sliced the first delivery from Mohammad Zahid past point for a boundary. At the half way mark, Bulls needed only 34 more runs. Daniyal bowled a splendid sixth over, though Lewis pulled the last ball of that over for a six. Bopara hit the first ball of the seventh over from Zahid for a boundary and followed up with a six to mid-wicket. He also smashed him for two more consecutive boundaries. When Lewis also hit Zahid for a six, 25 runs came off that over. Bopara smashed Patel through the covers to inflict the first defeat on Qalandars.
Brief scores: Delhi Bulls 111/1 (Evin Lewis 48n.o, Ravi Bopara 37n.o) beat Qalandars 107/6 in 10 overs (Tom Banton 26, Fidel Edwards 2 for 25) by nine wickets.
Maratha Arabians VS Deccan Gladiators
Defending champions Maratha Arabians bowed out of the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium with another shoddy batting performance. They crashed to a 29-runs defeat to Deccan Gladiators in the first match of the fourth day of the Super League.
Anwar Ali’s blazing cameo of an unbeaten 39 off 12 balls with two sixes and six boundaries helped Gladiators post a total of 120 for 4. In reply, Arabians could muster only 91 for 3 despite their skipper Mosaddek Hossain’s unbeaten 44. For Gladiators, who too have had a poor tournament, it was a consolation win despite resting their star players. South African veteran leg spinner Imran Tahir captained the team.
View this post on Instagram
Gupta, who had played Ranji Trophy for Uttar Pradesh, hit Muktar Ali for a six and two consecutive boundaries. UAE’s 16-year-old Maroof Merchant got hit for two sixes by Kaleem. At the half way mark, Gladiators were 67 for 1. Gupta fell to the fourth ball of the sixth over from Sompal Kami getting caught at long on for 25. Kami ended Kaleem’s knock of 28 with the last ball of that over. Kaleem got caught by Alishan Sharafu at deep midwicket. Kami gave away just only two runs in that over to take the two wickets.
Chasing the target, Arabians opener Abdul Shakoor got only one boundary off Imtiaz Ahmed, who bowled three wides in the first over. The second over from Aaron Summers was accurate and gave away only six runs. Opener Malhotra hit two consecutive boundaries off Imtiaz’s third over to take 12 runs. Imran Tahir introduced himself and bowled Shakoor for 9 with a googly. When Pakistan’s 18-year-old pacer Zeeshan Zameer had Shoaib Malik caught at long on for 1 in the fifth over giving away only five runs, the asking rate began to shoot up. Arabians needed 89 runs from the last five overs.
Gladiators introduced UAE’s Zahoor Khan for the sixth over and as usual he bowled tightly giving just one boundary to Mosaddek Hossain. In the seventh over, Malhotra hit the first ball for a boundary while Hossain hit a six, to get 14 run off that over. However, Arabians still needed 68 runs off the last 18 balls. Hossain hit Tahir for two successive boundaries and also earned a four rus bye. He also hit the fourth ball for a six to take 21 runs off the over.
With 46 runs needed from the last two overs, Summers had Malhotra brilliantly caught by Zahoor Khan at short fine leg for 22. He prevented the batsmen from going for any big hits in the over giving away just seven runs. With 39 runs needed off the last six balls, Zahoor Khan continued to bowl tight and ensured his team their second win. Hossain remained unbeaten on 44 but his team fell short by 29 runs.
Brief scores: Deccan Gladiators 120/4 in 10 overs (Prashant Gupta 35, Yasir Kaleem 28, Anwar Ali 39n.o, Sompal Kami 2 for 12) beat Maratha Arabians 91/3 in 10 overs (Ishan Malhotra 22, Mosaddek Hossain 44n.o) by 29 runs.
