NY Strikers go top of the table after Bulls sink to record low
After Gurbaz had helped Strikers get to 98, Hosein and Karunaratne triggered a spectacular slide to bowl Bulls out for 31
ESPNcricinfo staff
04-Dec-2023
Akeal Hosein's wickets included two first-ball ducks • Abu Dhabi T10
New York Strikers 98 for 4 (Gurbaz 49*, Smith 25*, Akram 2-15) beat Delhi Bulls 31 (Bopara 16, Karunaratne 3-6, Hosein 3-7) by 67 runs
Delhi Bulls sank to the lowest total in the Abu Dhabi T10's seven-year history, folding for just 31 despite having Quinton de Kock, Johnson Charles, James Vince, Rilee Rossouw, Rovman Powell, Ravi Bopara and Dwayne Bravo in their ranks, as New York Strikers picked up their third win and a spot at the top of the table for now.
If you score 98 for 4 in a ten-overs-a-side tournament where three figures are breached quite often, you expect to have it tough in the second half, but it was certainly not the case on the day for Strikers.
Two wickets fell in the first over of the chase, to Akeal Hosein (3 for 7), one each in the second and third, and three in the fifth to Chamika Karunaratne (3 for 6). That was the end of the specialist batters bar Bopara, who was the only Bulls batter to get into double-digits, finishing with 16. Bulls were bowled out with three balls left in the innings, with four batters falling for ducks.
In the first half, Rahmanullah Gurbaz dominated proceedings with a 24-ball 49 not out, as Strikers reached what was a just-about-par score of 98… it proved more than three times what Bulls could manage on the day.
Bulls have now lost two on the bounce after starting with three wins in a row, and are at No. 3 on the table, while Strikers, after starting with a loss, have now won three in a row.
Sams and Cox consign Team Abu Dhabi to fifth straight loss
Bangla Tigers 67 for 1 (Cox 56*, Fuller 1-21) beat Team Abu Dhabi 66 (Raees 20, Sams 3-11, Gabriel 2-2, Howell 2-9) by 9 wickets
Daniel Sams set up Bangla Tigers' 9-wicket win before Jordan Cox delivered the knockout blow with a whirlwind half-century to leave Team Abu Dhabi with five defeats in as many games in the season.
After asking Abu Dhabi to bat first, Sams got the Tigers off to the perfect start by dismissing Kyle Mayers and Tom Banton in the first over. Shannon Gabriel then removed Alex Hales in the third to make things worse for Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi could not recover from the early jolt and lost another four wickets for 14 runs.
Abu Dhabi skipper Dwaine Pretorius scored a 13-ball 15 to try and steady his team, but they kept losing wickets regularly. Sams returned for a second over and removed Pretorius before No. 11 batter Rumman Raees gave his team a late boost by smashing three sixes to stay unbeaten on 20 off eight balls.
James Fuller, opening the bowling in Abu Dhabi's defence of 66, continued the momentum gained by Raees by having Avishka Fernando caught behind for a duck off his second delivery.
But that was all the joy Abu Dhabi would enjoy as Cox made short work of the chase.
The opener raced to a half-century off 21 balls and finished unbeaten on 56 off 23 as the Tigers won with more than half their overs left. Cox smashed ten fours and two sixes, and Kusal Mendis at the other end was almost a bystander, facing just four deliveries.
Bangla Tigers are fifth on the table after the win, and still in the hunt to qualify for the knockouts.