Abu Dhabi T10 League 2021: Day 3 – Round-Up

The third day of the Abu Dhabi T10 League commenced with the Maratha Arabians locking horns with the Bangla Tigers. After the Tigers elected to field, none of their bowlers could earn any success as Mohammad Hafeez, who hit 7 fours and three sixes in his 30-ball 61, and Abdul Shakoor, who got 34 from 30 with three boundaries, led the Arabians to 103 for none.

Though the Tigers failed in claiming a wicket, the bowlers nevertheless ensured that the opponent batsmen did not pile too many. In response, the West Indian duo of Johnson Charles (23 from 11) and skipper Andre Fletcher (31 from 16) raced the team to 33 in the first three overs. Despite losing Charles, Afif Hossain and Chirag Suri ensured their team a 6 wicket victory through their quick-fire cameos of 22 and 19, respectively.

In the second fixture of the day, between Team Abu Dhabi and Qalandars, Shahid Afridi spun a web around Abu Dhabi after his team had inserted them to bat. Chris Gayle fell cheaply to make it two failures in a row, although his partner Paul Stirling (29) contributed well in his 16-ball stay. Failing to gain any momentum, it was Joe Clarke’s spectacular 13-ball 34, which guided the team to 104/5.

Giving another racy start to his team during the chase, Tom Banton slammed six boundaries in his 14-ball 30 before perishing to Naveen ul Haq. Skipper Sohail Akhtar (27 from 17) joined forces with Sharjeel Khan, who bludgeoned six fours and a six en route to his 40 from 21, as the Qalandars gunned the target with 10 balls and nine wickets to spare.

The choice of fielding first against the Northern Warriors in the third fixture of the day proved immensely costly to the Delhi Bulls, who were pulverized by the might of Nicholas Pooran. In his 21-ball outing, Pooran smothered the bowlers to all corners, hitting five humungous sixes and as many fours before falling to DJ Bravo for 54. An 8-ball 24 from Rovman Powell apart from Fabien Allens’s 10-ball 28 meant that the Warriors finished 137/3, despite Waqas Masood’s unreal figures of 2-1-1-1.

Out to chase an unlikely target, Wayne Parnell and Rayad Emrit suffocated the Bulls, picking 5 wickets amongst them. The only hope for the Bulls was Ravi Bopara, who slapped four maximums in his 36-run knock, although barring him, there was hardly another batsman who was able to match Warriors’ effort. Resultantly, the Bulls could reach no farther than 105 at the loss of 7 wickets, losing the fixture by a fair margin of 32 runs.

Abu Dhabi T10 League 2021, Brief scores, Day 3

Maratha Arabians vs Bangla Tigers – 7th Match

MA:  103/0 (10 overs) –Mohammad Hafeez (61 from 30), Abdul Shakoor (34 from 30); Qais Ahmad 0/9

BT: 108/1 (8 overs) – Andre Fletcher (31 from 16), Johnson Charles (23 from 11), Afif Hossain (22 from 10); Muktar Ali 1/13, Sohag Gazi 1/17

Result: Bangla Tigers won by 6 wickets.

Team Abu Dhabi vs Qalandars – 8th Match

TAD: 100/5 (10 overs) – Joe Clarke (34 from 13), Paul Stirling (29 from 16); Shahid Afridi 2/16

QAL: 104/1 (8.2 overs) – Sharjeel Khan (40 from 21), Sohail Akhtar (27 from 17); Naveen ul Haq 1/19

Result: Qalandars won by 9 wickets.

Northern Warriors vs Delhi Bulls – 9th Match

NW: 137/3 (10 overs) – Nicholas Pooran (54 from 21), Rovman Powell (24 from 8); Waqas Masood 1/1, Ali Khan 1/16

DB: 105/7 (10 overs) – Ravi Bopara (36 from 15); Wayne Parnell 3/15, Rayad Emrit 2/25

Result: Northern Warriors won by 32 runs.