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Abu Dhabi:Through a spirited show, Delhi Bulls snapped Qalandars’ winning streak in the Alubond Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. Bulls restricted Qalandars’ formidable batting to 107 for 6 and raced to a morale boosting nine-wicket win with 16 balls to spare in the second match of the fourth day of the Super League.
Opener Evin Lewis cracked an unbeaten 48 off just 18 balls with five sixes and three boundaries. Ravi Bopara remained unconquered on 37 off 15 balls with two sixes and five boundaries. Bulls will now take on Northern Warriors in the first qualifier.
Bulls won the toss and followed the trend of opting to field. Qalandars’ opener Sharjeel Khan began by hitting Waqas Maqsood elegantly through the covers for a boundary. Maqsood bowled the rest of the deliveries tightly.
Sharjeel escaped being caught at his score on 5 when Lewis at mid-wicket dropped him off Fidel Edwards. The drop did not prove costly as Edwards clean bowled Sharjeel for 7 with the fifth ball of that over. Skipper Sohail Akhthar and opener Tom Banton picked one boundary each off Maqsood’s third over.
Dwayne Bravo struck with the fourth ball of the fourth over by forcing Akhtar to top edge to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 14. In the fifth over, Shiraz Ahmed produced a brilliant yorker to clean bowl Ben Dunk for 1. At the half way mark Qalandars were 47 for 3.
Nyeem Young, a 20-year-old pacer from Barbados gave away eight runs in the sixth over. Banton hit Bravo for two consective boundaries but he got run out off the last delivery. Young produced a direct throw to the bowler’s end to end Banton’s knock of 26 runs. Young then went on to dismiss Ahmed Daniyal, caught at backward point, for 7. The accurate Shiraz was introduced for the ninth over and he gave away only a boundary to Chris Jordan. Edwards, who bowled the tenth over, clean bowled Jordan with a full toss for 18. Next man Samit Patel pulled him for a boundary and also lifted him for a straight six. He hit the last delivery to the long off boundary and get 20 runs for his team off that over. Patil remained unconquered on 18 runs from five deliveries.
Chasing the target, Bulls’ openers Gurbaz and Lewis could get only one run each from Sohail Tanvir’s first over. Gurbaz lifted UAE left-arm spinner Sultan Ahmed for a six to long-on and a boundary to mid-off. He also picked another straight six to take 16 runs off that over.
Lewis smashed the first delivery of the third over for a boundary to long off and pulled the next one for a six. The third delivery was also hit effortlessly for a six. He was beaten by the fourth ball, but luckily the inside edge fetched Lewis another boundary. With the fifth ball Daniyal trapped Gurbaz leg before for 17, but the over ended with Bulls getting 23 runs.
Ravi Bopara hit Jordan for a six to long-on to steer the team past the 50 run mark in 3.1 overs. Lewis did not spare the accurate Jordan too and hit him for a six to mid-off to take 16 runs off the over. Bopara sliced the first delivery from Mohammad Zahid past point for a boundary. At the half way mark, Bulls needed only 34 more runs.
Daniyal bowled a splendid sixth over, though Lewis pulled the last ball of that over for a six. Bopara hit the first ball of the seventh over from Zahid for a boundary and followed up with a six to mid-wicket. He also smashed him for two more consecutive boundaries. When Lewis also hit Zahid for a six, 25 runs came off that over.
Bopara smashed Patel through the covers to inflict the first defeat on Qalandars.
Brief scores:
Delhi Bulls beat Qalandars by nine wickets. Qalandars 107 for 6 in 10 overs (Tom Banton 26, Fidel Edwards 2 for 25) Delhi Bulls 111 for 1 (Evin Lewis 48n.o, Ravi Bopara 37n.o)
Player of the match: Nyeem Young