Abu Dhabi: Bangla Tigers opener and skipper Andre Fletcher showed the way for UAE’s Chirag Suri and Tom Moores to record an eight-wicket win over Pune Devils in the first match of the Super League in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday (February 1).
Fletcher hit a quick 30 runs off 15 balls to set the stage for the chase. The in-form Suri played another brilliant unbeaten knock of 30 off 15 balls while Tom Moores made it easy through a breezy unbeaten 38 off just 12 balls. Pune had posted a challenging 115 for 3 through Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s elegant 48 runs and Alex Davies’s unbeaten 41. Bangla Tigers raced to the target with eight balls to spare.
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Matheesha Pathirana, an eighteen-year-old medium-pacer from Sri Lanka, did not give Cadmore or Kennar Lewis the liberty to hit boundaries. Cadmore made up for it in the third over from Mujeeb by hitting him for a six to long-off and a boundary through the covers to take 14 runs off that over. Karim Janat, known for his ability to bowl tight overs, did just that and got the wicket of Lewis, caught at mid-off for 9. Cadmore could pick only one boundary in the fifth over from Qais Ahmad and at the halfway mark Pune were 55 for 1.
Chasing a run rate of 11.50 needed a steady start. Bangla Tigers’ started with their aggressive openers Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher. Pakistan’s experienced left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir gave away only eight runs in his first over. The second over bowled by Bangladesh’s Monir Hossain too yielded only nine runs despite Charles hitting a six over mid-wicket.
Tom Moores made up for it in the eight over hitting Monir Hossain for three successive sixes and get 23 runs off that over. This tilted the match in Bangla Tigers way as they needed only 16 runs from the last 12 overs. Moores hit Viljoen for a boundary and a six. Suri helped his team reach the target by pulling Viljoen for a six.
Brief scores: Pune Devils 115/3 in 10 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 48, Alex Davies 41*) lost to Bangla Tigers 119/2 in 8.5 overs (Andre Fletcher 30, Chirag Suri 30*, Tom Moores 38*) by eight wickets.
Northern Warriors VS Team Abu Dhabi
Northern Warriors down Team Abu Dhabi through a nail-biting finish in the second Super League match of the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. Chasing Team Abu Dhabi’s challenging total of 123 for 3, Warriors hit up the runs through UAE’s domestic cricketer Waseem Muhammad’s fighting 76 runs off 34 balls with six sixes and seven boundaries and opener Lendl Simmons’ unbeaten 37 off 25 balls.
Abu Dhabi bowled tightly challenging Warriors to score 31 runs off the last two overs and 15 off the final over. Warriors reached the target off the last ball. Undaunted by the early loss, skipper Luke Wright hit Riaz for two consecutive boundaries and a six in the same over.
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Joe Clarke began by hitting Siddique for two consecutive boundaries. Warriors re-introduced Riaz for the fifth over to make it tougher for Abu Dhabi. He gave away just eight runs, and at the half way mark, Abu Dhabi was only 56 for 3. When Wayne Parnell, who bowled the sixth over, gave away only six runs, Abu Dhabi’s hopes of notching up a total over 100 runs began to fade.
Sri Lanka’s 22-year-old pacer Dhananjaya Lakshan bowled a tighter seventh over giving away just five runs. Clarke opened out in the eighth over and hit Emrit for two sixes and two boundaries to take 22 runs in the over. Ben Duckett too chipped in by hitting Lakshan for two sixes, one over deep square leg and another over long-on to steer the total past the 100-run mark.
Northern Warriors went for their big hits right away through Lendl Simmons and Waseem Muhammad. Simmons hit Usman Shinwari’s third delivery for a six over mid-wicket while Muhammad smashed him for a boundary past point. Simmons also hit Naveen Ul Haq for two successive boundaries and a six in the second over. Jamie Overton’s deceptive slower deliveries made Muhammad swing and miss twice, but he hit the next two deliveries to the boundary. Rohan Mustafa bowled a tight fourth over despite Simmons hitting him for a boundary. When Obed McCoy gave away only four runs in the fifth over, the pressure for big hits began to mount. Muhammad hit Mustafa for two sixes in the sixth over to take 15 runs.
The first delivery of Overton, who was picked to bowl the last over, was hit by Muhammad for a boundary to long-on. He bowled two wides off the next two balls and Muhammad pulled the third for a six. With three runs needed off the last four deliveries, Overton trapped Muhammad leg before for 76. Nicholas Pooran walked in when three runs were needed off the last three balls. He was out when he lifted Overton straight to McCoy at long-on. Simmons picked a single off the fifth ball. Powell replaced Pooran and hit Overton to mid-wicket, but a fumble by Mustafa gave them the required two runs.
Brief scores: Team Abu Dhabi 123/3 in 10 overs (Luke Wright 33, Joe Clarke 50*, Ben Duckett 31*) lost to Northern Warriors 124/2 in 10 overs (Lendl Simmons 37n.o, Waseem Muhammad 76, Jamie Overton 2 for 25) by eight wickets.
Deccan Gladiators VS Delhi Bulls
Deccan Gladiators crashed before the effortless power-hitting by Delhi Bulls’ openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Evin Lewis in the third Super League match of the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. Chasing Gladiators total of 118 for 7, the opening pair put on 90 runs in 4.5 overs and guided their team to an emphatic eight-wicket win with 11 balls to spare.
Gurbaz cracked 47 runs off 20 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes. Lewis hit 35 off 14 balls with four sixes and one boundary. Although Deccan Gladiators lost four wickets in the first five overs, they posted a challenging 118 for 7 mainly due to Kieron Pollard’s 47 off 18 balls with four sixes and four boundaries.
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Azam Khan joined Shahzad and picked two boundaries off Edwards. Shahzad too did not last long as he lifted Ali Khan into the hands of Dwayne Bravo for 13. The fifth over was bowled by Shiraz Ahmed and he was hit on his left hand by Kieron Pollard’s powerful shot and had to leave the field after his second delivery. Amad Butt was called in to complete the over, and he forced Azam Khan to play on to his wicket for 22. Pollard punished Tom Abell in the sixth over by hitting a six to the sightscreen and another one over long-off to take 22 runs off the over. Pollard hit Bravo over deep square leg for a six too. He went on to pick two more boundaries off Bravo.
Ali Khan ended Pollard’s knock by having him caught at long-off by Mohammad Nabi for 47 of the first ball of the last over. Khan gave away just two runs in that over to return with figures of two wickets for just four runs from his two overs. For Gladiators who had lost four wickets in the first five overs, to be able to post 118 for 7 was indeed impressive.
Sunil Narine, who bowled the fourth over, was also not spared by Gurbaz. He hit him for a boundary and slog swept him for a six. When Imran Tahir was introduced for the fifth over, Lewis hit him for two consecutive sixes. Attempting another big hit, Lewis hit straight to Imtiaz Ahmed at deep mid-wicket for 35. So breezy was the opening partnership of 90 runs that Delhi needed only 29 more runs from the last five overs. Tahir struck again in the seven other to get the wicket of Gurbaz having him caught at long-on for 47. Sherfane Rutherford through a quick 13-ball 28 runs ensured the victory with 11 balls to spare.
Brief score: Deccan Gladiators 118/7 in 10 overs (Azam Khan 22, Kieron Pollard 47, Amad Butt 2/20, Ali Khan 2/4) lost to Delhi Bulls 122/2 in 8.1 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 47, Evin Lewis 35, Imran Tahir 2/30) by eight wickets.
