Strikers move into Abu Dhabi T10 final
Abu DHABI: New York Strikers booked their place in the final of the sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 through a well-fought four-wicket win over Samp Army in the Qualifier 1 match held at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
UAE opener Muhammad Waseem made the local fans proud through a responsible unbeaten knock of 36 to ensure New York Strikers the victory. New York Strikers’ bowlers too produced a fine display of disciplined bowling to restrict Samp Army to 81 for 9.
Chasing the moderate score, though New York Strikers lost five wickets for 46 runs at the halfway stage, Waseem through his defiant unbeaten 36 carried New York Strikers to the target with nine balls to spare. Waseem’s knock which came off 16 balls had three boundaries and three sixes.
New York Strikers won the toss and elected to field. Samp Army were off to a disastrous start losing two wickets in the first over from Akeal Hosein. With the fourth ball, he had Johnson Charles, who went for a big shot to mid-wicket, miss the ball and get clean bowled for 1, and with the next ball, he clean bowled Karim Janat with a delivery that swung in to hit his off stump.
Skipper Moeen Ali hit the second ball of the second over from Matiullah Khan over extra cover for a boundary. Basil Hameed began by hiting Matiullah over the cover for a six. Fiteen runs came off that over.
Moeen as well as Basil could not take any liberties in the third over bowled by Hosein. In fact, Hosein would have got Moeen out with the fith delivery but for Jordan Thompson dropping the easy catch at long-on. Hosein gave away just four runs in that over. Basil fell in the next over to Ravi Rampaul clean bowled for 9. Rampaul also struck with the fourth ball having Moeen caught by Thompson, who had dropped him earlier, but this time at deep mid-wicket for 12.
Thompson also made an acrobatic effort at the mid-wicket boundary line to catch Dwaine Pretorius off Rashid Khan. The hit eluded Thompson’s outstretched hands and went for a six.
Pretorius also hit the third ball from Rashid Khan for another six to mid-wicket. At the halfway mark, Samp Army were 46 for 4.
Half of the Samp Army side was back in the dug-out for 46 when Pretorius got caught by Rashid Khan at long-off off Thompson for 15. David Miller walked in and hit the first ball he faced through the extra cover for a boundary.
More disaster followed for Samp Army when Shimron Hetmyer got run out to a direct throw from Paul Stirling for 1. Chamika Karunaratne picked a boundary off Rashid Khan’s fourth ball of the seventh over.
The regular fall of wickets continued in the eighth over too when Wahab Riaz had Karunaratne caught at long-on by Kieron Pollard for 5. David Miller hit a six pulling Thompson to backward square-leg but fell to the next ball hiting in the air to Matiullah Khan at point for 13.
The last over bowled by Riaz yielded only six runs. He also dismissed Sheldon Cotrell with the last ball of the innings for 6, caught by Stirling at short third man. Samp Army was thus restricted to 81 for 9 in 10 overs.
New York Strikers began their chase through the consistent Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling. Morgan gave an aggressive start hiting Cotrell’s third and fourth deliveries of the first over for sixes. The first six went over long on and the second over mid-wicket. Mahesh Theekshana clean-bowled Stirling with the second ball of the second over.
Waseem, fresh from his unbeaten 45 against Team Abu Dhabi in his last match on Friday, hit Theekshana’s last delivery for a six over extra cover. Karim Janat picked the prize wicket of Morgan, clean bowled for 14, with the fith ball of the third over.
Waseem hit Pretorius’s third delivery for another six over long-off. Azam Khan too hit the fith ball from Pretorius for a boundary.