Abu Dhabi T10: New York Strikers, Delhi Bulls record comprehensive wins

Abu Dhabi [UAE]: New York Strikers restricted Bangla Tigers to 101 for 7 in 10 overs and recorded an impressive eight-wicket win in the fifth match of the Abu Dhabi T10 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Kusal Perera’s unbeaten 50 and Mohammad Waseem’s 41 ensured New York Strikers their first win with 14 balls to spare after they had lost the opening match to Deccan Gladiators, as per a press release from ADT10.

New York Strikers’ Chamika Karunaratne with a fine spell of 3 for 22 backed by Muhammad Jawadullah (2 for 21) bowled brilliantly to check Bangla Tigers’ run flow. For Bangla Tigers, Jordan Cox top scored with 38 runs from 17 balls with six boundaries and a six. Wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis chipped in with 29 runs from 12 balls with four boundaries and two sixes.

New York Strikers won the toss and elected to field. The match began on a sensational note with New York Strikers’ UAE bowler Muhammad Jawadullah clean bowling Chris Lynn with the third ball of the first over for 1. Kusal Mendis joined opener Jordan Cox and hit Mohammad Amir for a six over mid-wicket in the second over.

Cox took on Ali Khan and hit him for four consecutive boundaries while Mendis hit the last ball of this third over for a six. Twenty-three runs came off that over. Cox greeted Sunil Narine with a six and a boundary in the fourth over. Jawadullah, who bowled the first over and bagged the only wicket to fall, was re-introduced for the fifth over. He struck by clean bowling Cox for 38. His knock of 17 balls had six boundaries and a six. This brought in David Miller to the crease.

Mendis, who was striking well, fell to Narine well caught by substitute Deyal at deep mid-wicket for 29. His knock off 12 balls had four boundaries and two sixes. Daniel Sams joined Miller but the pair did not last long as Chamika Karunaratne got Miller to pull to Muhammad Wasim at mid-wicket for 3.

Hard-hitter Carlos Brathwaite lasted just six balls to score one run before hitting Akeal Hosein to Karunaratne at long-on. It was a brilliant tumbling catch. Amir bowled an excellent ninth over giving away just three runs. Karunaratne who bowled the last over had Benny Howell caught by Pollard at long-on.

Dasun Shanaka hit Karunaratne for six but fell to the next ball caught by Pollard again at long-on. Dominic Drakes hit the last ball for six to ensure that the total crossed the 100-run mark.
New York Strikers began their chase through two of the finest hitters Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Muhammad Waseem. Waseem picked the first boundary to fine leg off Josh Little. Gurbaz fell to a well-judged high catch by Benny Howell off Daniel Sams for 7.

Kusal Perera hit Brathwaite for two boundaries. Waseem too picked another off the fourth ball from Dominic Drakes. He then hit Sams for a six and hammered the next ball to long-on for a boundary. At the halfway mark, New York Strikers needed 45 runs to win.

Waseem hit Haider Ali for a six to deep mid-wicket while Kusal Perera picked two boundaries to make it 27 runs for victory from 24 balls. Waseem, who was playing well, got clean bowled for 41 to Howell. His knock off 22 balls had five boundaries and two sixes. Perera hit Howell for a mighty six-to-deep square leg and two boundaries and accelerated the race to the target. He reached his half-century with a six off Little and recorded the winning run too with his skipper Kieron Pollard unbeaten on 2.

In the game two of the day, Delhi Bulls displayed their batting strength to overcome Deccan Gladiators’ challenging score of 120 for 2 in 10 overs to win the third match of the Abu Dhabi T10 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium by nine wickets with nine balls to spare.

The architects of Delhi Bulls’ victory were Quinton De Kock, who carried his form from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, to remain unbeaten on 50 off 26 balls with three boundaries and four sixes. He put on 73 runs opening partnership with Johnson Charles, who smashed 36 off 13 balls with five boundaries and two sixes. Skipper Rovman Powell chipped in with 31 runs off 12 balls with five boundaries and a six.

Deccan Gladiators’ 120 for 2 in ten overs was carved out of Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s another fine knock. Fresh from his match-winning unbeaten 68 runs in the opening match against New York Strikers, he hit 42 off 21 balls with five boundaries and three sixes. His opening partner Andre Fletcher too scored 34 and together they set the stage for an impressive total with 64 runs opening partnership in 5.3 overs. It was difficult to imagine that such a total would turn out to be an easy target for the mighty Delhi Bulls.

Deccan Gladiators’ skipper Nicholas Pooran had won the toss and elected to bat. Pooran fielded an unchanged team that had beaten the New York Strikers in their opening match.

The day’s action began with Kohler-Cadmore opening with Andre Fletcher. Afghanistan left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, opening the attack, gave away only three runs. The first ball of the second over from Lancashire right-arm medium pacer Richard Gleeson was hit over long-off for the first six of the day by Fletcher.

Kohler-Cadmore hit two consecutive boundaries off Gleeson to take 17 runs off that over. The third over saw Kohler-Cadmore go for the big shots and hit two consecutive sixes off Pakistan right-arm pacer Muhammad Rohid from the first two deliveries. The next two deliveries too were hit for boundaries.

Twenty-one runs came off that over. Big hitting continued in the fourth over too with Naveen-Ul-Haq being greeted by Kohler-Cadmore with a six and a boundary off the first two balls. The 50-runs partnership came in 3.2 overs.

Then veteran pacer Dwayne Bravo was introduced for the fifth over. He gave away just two runs, and at the half way mark, Deccan Gladiators scored 58 for no loss.

Fletcher produced an elegant cover drive off Naveen Ul Haq’s first delivery of the sixth over. Naveen struck with the third ball by ending Kohler-Cadmore’s knock by having him caught by Usman Khan at the long-off boundary for 42. His knock off 21 balls had five boundaries and three sixes.

Skipper Pooran (18*) pulled the first ball he faced from Naveen for a six. The seventh over from Fazalhaq saw Powell pull off a spectacular save to a Fletcher’s shot aimed for a six. Powell leaped in the air, caught the ball and threw it back into the field. This could not stop Pooran from flicking Fazalhaq for a six.

Gleeson bowled a good eighth over giving away just two runs, but the effect of that was nullified in the ninth over with two towering sixes off Muhammad Rohid. The second six over mid-wicket sailed out of the ground. Fletcher got run out for 34 attempting a cheeky single to Rohid. His 20-ball knock had one boundary and three sixes.

Bravo was introduced for the last over but Andre Russell flicked the first ball for a boundary. He hit the next over the covers for a six. The third ball too was smashed for another six over deep square leg. Twenty-one runs were scored off that over and Deccan Gladiators posted an impressive 120 for 2 in 10 overs.

Needing to score at a run rate of 12 per over, Delhi Bulls opener Quinton de Kock and Johnson Charles began aggressively taking 11 runs off Trent Boult’s first over. Charles hit a boundary and a six off the fifth and sixth delivery. De Kock began by pulling Zahir Khan for a six and a boundary off the next. He slog-swept the third ball for a six over mid-wicket cover and drove the fourth four a boundary.

Thirty-two runs from the first two overs was the ideal start for a good chase. De Kock also hit Wasim over long-on for his third six. Charles punished Zahoor Khan hitting an effortless boundary over the covers. He also slashed him over the slip for another boundary. Their 50-runs partnership came in 3.3 overs. He scooped the fourth ball for yet another boundary. The fifth ball was hit over the deep point for a six and the last delivery too went racing to the third-man boundary. Twenty-three runs came off that over. The onslaught resulted in only 54 runs being needed in 35 balls.

Although Luke Wood got steered for a boundary by De Kock, Wood struck back by yorking Charles for 36. His 13-ball knock had five boundaries and two sixes. Next man Rovman Powell took up the challenge and smashed Boult to the long-on boundary and also hit him over gully for another four. The last two deliveries of that over too were hit for consecutive boundaries to take 17 runs off that over. So aggressive were the batters that only 23 runs were needed in the last 18 balls.

Delhi Bulls went past the 100-run mark in 7.2 overs. De Kock hit his fourth six off Imad Wasim and went on to reach his half-century in 26 balls. Powell hit the winning shot – a six off Fabian Allen over long-on and won the match with nine balls to spare.

Brief scores:
New York Strikers bt Bangla Tigers by 8 wickets. Bangla Tigers 101 for 7 in 10 overs (Jordan Cox 38, Kusal Mendis 29, Muhammad Jawadullah 2 for 21, Chamika Karunaratne 3 for 22) and New York Strikers 103 for 2 in 7.4 overs (Muhammad Waseem 41, Kusal Perera 50*)

Player of the Match: Chamika Karunaratne.
Brief scores:
Delhi Bulls beat Deccan Gladiators by 9 wickets.
Deccan Gladiators 120 for 2 in 10 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 42, Andre Fletcher 34) Delhi Bulls 122 for 1 in 8.3 overs (Quinton de Kock 50n.o, Johnson Charles 36, Rovman Powell 31*)
Player of the Match: Quinton de Kock.