Sachin’s Blasters v Warne’s Warriors 3rd T20 Review: Warriors win a thriller to end the cricket carnival in the USA

Sachin’s Blasters v Warne’s Warriors 3rd T20 Review: Warriors win a thriller to end the cricket carnival in the USA: The 3rd T20 at the Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles produced a high scoring thriller which thoroughly entertained a delirious crowd. Having won the toss the Blasters skipper, Sachin decided to bat first and put the runs on the board.

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar looked in ominous touch and got their team off to a brisk start. Viru was the first to be dismissed on 27 off 15 with the score at 55 from 3.5 overs. Mahela Jayawardene walked in and continued the good work in the company of the little master who was smashing the ball to all parts of the ground. Sachin hit 6 sixes a made a brilliant 56 off just 27 balls before he was dismissed by Daniel Vettori. The score at this juncture was 129 in 9.3 overs. Mahela made 41 off 18 playing a gem of a cameo before top-edging a reverse sweep. A partnership of 86 runs between Sourav Ganguly and Carl Hooper took the score past 200 and put the Blasters in a commanding position. Ganguly made a 50 off 37 balls while Hooper remained not out on 33 of 22. The Blasters scored 219/5 from 20 overs. Vettori was the most successful bowler for the Warriors picking up 3 wickets and conceding only 33 of his 4 overs.

The Warriors reply started on a bad note with Michael Vaughan being bowled by Curtly Ambrose of the first ball of the innings. An inside edge castled the stumps much to the delight of the legendary West Indian fast bowler. Symonds made 31 off 19, courtesy 3 sixes and 2 fours, before being caught by Mahela off Swann at deep midwicket. Matthew Hayden was the next to go being run out for 12 attempting a quick single. VVS Laxman brilliant throw from the short fine leg was collected by Moin Khan who was quick to dislodge the bails. The score at this juncture was 52-3 from 5.3 overs. Kumar Sangakkara’s quick-fire 42 off 21 balls took the score past 100. Sanga hit 3 sixes and 4 fours before becoming Swann’s second wicket. Jonty Rhodes departed after scoring 17 off 24 balls and the score being 129/5 the Warriors looked in trouble. Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis did the rescue act and played brilliant knocks.  Their partnership of 88 from just 6.1 overs produced some huge hits and kept the pressure on the bowlers. The Warriors needed 57 off 3 overs and Ambrose and McGrath bowled 2 loose overs in which they were hammered for fours and sixes. Ambrose conceded 26 runs while McGrath 23 to hand over the advantage to the Warriors. The final over was bowled by Sehwag and it did produce some drama. Needing 8 runs Kallis missed the first balls and hit a 4 off the second. A wide was followed by a wicket, the South African being caught and bowled by Viru. Ponting could manage only a single off the fourth ball and the Warriors needed 2 off 2 to seal the deal. Their Skipper Shane Warne had a chat with Ponting before taking strike. He danced down the track to Viru and lofted one over deep midwicket above Murali who watched the ball sail over the boundary for a maximum. The Warriors thus won the series 3-0 playing better cricket than their opposition. Ponting remained not out on 43 of 25. Kallis was declared the player of the match for his 47 off 23 balls and a spell of 3 tight overs in which he conceded only 17 runs. Sanga was rightly adjudged the player of the series for his brilliant batting.

The series was all about spreading cricket in the USA and it surely did that. With huge number of fans turning up for all 3 matches, the All-Stars series became a huge hit.

Brief Scores

Sachin’s Blasters:  219/5 in 20 overs (Tendulkar 56, Ganguly 50, Vettori 3/33)

Warne’s Warriors:  224/6 in 19.5 overs (Kallis 47, Ponting 43, Swann 2/21)

Shane Warne’s Warriors won by 4 wickets.

Series: Warne’s Warriors won the 3-match series 3-0.

Jacques Kallis is Man of the Match

Kumar Sangakkara is Man of the Series