Dubai: Nicholas Pooran hit form with a hurricane 89 (off 26 balls with 12 sixes and three boundaries) to help Northern Warriors outplay Bangla Tigers by 30 runs on the fourth day of Abu Dhabi T10 League on Sunday. It was simply a shower of sixes from the pocket-sized Caribbean in the 11th match at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Bangla Tigers chased a steep target of 163 bravely, thanks to their skipper Andre Fletcher who hit 53 runs off 28 balls (four boundaries and four sixes). He was backed by UAE’s Chirag Suri, who hit an unbeaten 42 off 16 balls with five sixes, but they fell short of the target by 30 runs.
Northern Warriors, after being sent in to bat, got off to a quick start picking 17 runs off the first over with opener Waseem Muhammad hitting two sixes off Mohammad Irfan. In the second over, Mujeeb Ur Rehman had Waseem out for 12 getting him caught at long-on.
Pooran then walked in and began hitting right away, picking up George Garton for a six. Qais Ahmed, who bowled the fourth over, came in for some special treatment from Pooran who slammed three sixes and one boundary. The sixth over saw Pooran in full flow again, hitting Mohammad Irfan for three successive sixes and he raced to his half-century in the seventh over off 17 balls.
When Garton was re-introduced in the eighth over, Pooran hit him for four successive sixes and two boundaries to take 32 runs off that over. Karim Janat removed Lendl Simmons by having him caught at long-off for 41. He also ended Pooran’s knock by having him caught by Andre Fletcher at extra cover off the next ball.
Chasing the mammoth score of 162, Tigers were in trouble early when Pakistan’s senior paceman Wahab Riaz scalped Johnson Charles for a duck with the third ball. In the second over, Fletcher hit Junaid Siddiqui for a boundary and a six. He began stroking freely, hitting Riaz for two successive boundaries. In the fourth over, Fletcher became more aggressive hitting Ryan Emrit for two successive sixes.
Wayne Parnell, who took a hat-trick in his last match, bowled the sixth over and gave away just seven runs. Suri lifted Allen for two consecutive sixes off the first and second deliveries of the eighth over. He also lifted the fourth delivery for another six to take 31 runs off that over, but the target still proved distant in the end.
Brief scores: Northern Warriors beat Bangla Tigers by 30 runs. Northern Warriors 162 for 4 in 10 overs (Lendl Simmons 41, Nicholas Pooran 89, Karim Janat 2 for 18) Bangla Tigers 132 for 3 in 10 overs (Andre Fletcher 53, Chirag Suri 42n.o) Man of the match: Nicholas Pooran.
