Warriors down Sindhis in last-ball thriller
SHARJAH: Northern Warriors won the ‘Battle of the Newcomers’ by a whisker - 1 wicket on the last ball from the jaws of a possible defeat in the 16th match of the second T10 League at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing an easy target of 91 runs for six set by the newcomers Sindhis, the Warriors were all set for an easy win. However, Shane Watson, the Sindhis captain had other ideas. His bowlers kept on attacking from different angles and eventually got what they wanted - wickets from both ends.
As a result, the Warriors were at one point struggled and looked doubtful of reaching the target. In the middle of the tenth over, Warriors needed five runs off three balls. However, in the end the two tail enders were left with score levelled with one ball to spare. Failing to hit the ball, then managed to outwit wicketkeeper Ghulam Shabbir to steal the last run and eventually win by a wicket.
Sindhis used six bowlers - all bagging wickets. However, they just got unlucky in the end.
Watson again showed his class and leadership with a powerful knock of 50 off 28 balls comprised of five fours and three sixes to help his team reach 91 for the loss of six wickets in their stipulated ten-over innings that was dominated by the Warriors’ bowlers Andre Russell, Harry Gurney and Hardus Viljoen with all taking two wickets each - to restrict the Sindhis to below 91. Among the Sindhis, Sri Lankan hitman Thisara Pereira and Uaebased Muhammed Nawaz reached double figure scores by scoring 11 each.
As the tournament entered its seventh day, the teams total have begun to shrink. But sometimes even a low-scoring match can have many edge-of-the-seat moments like the one witnessed between Warriors and Sindhis.
Meanwhile, in the early match of the day, Maratha Arabians thrashed mighty Rajputs by 10 wickets.
Arabians restricted the Rajputs to a paltry 63-7 in their allotted 10 overs, the lowest score in the history of the T10 League, wiping away Kerala Knights low score of 71 against Punjabi Legends, which was recorded less than 24 hours earlier.
Rajput’s top-scorer was Ben Dunk (15) as none of the others crossed into double figures. The Arabians won the match in five overs through an unbeaten 64-run opening partnership between Hazratullah Zazai and Alex Hales.
Winning the match in half of the allotted overs and transforming the contest into the shortest match, Zazai remained unbeaten on 29 and Hales unconquered on 27.