Maratha Arabians prove T10 is a bowlers’ format too

Sharjah: All those who said T10 is a batsmen’s game are being proved wrong. Before the start of the event, many experts of the game and even top cricketers had claimed that T10 is a format where bowlers are paid to be hit. On the seventh day of the T10 League at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Maratha Arabians restricted the mighty Rajputs to a paltry 63-7 in their 10 overs, the lowest score in the history of the T10 league, wiping away Kerala Knights low score of 71 against Punjabi Legends, which was recorded less than 24 hours earlier.

Rajput’s top-scorer was Ben Dunk, who scored 15 runs, while none of the others crossed into double figures. The Arabians won the match in five overs through an unbeaten 64-run opening partnership between Hazratullah Zazai and Alex Hales. Winning the match in half of the allotted overs and transforming the contest into the shortest match, Zazai remained unbeaten on 29 and Hales unconquered on 27.

The Arabians won the toss and elected to bowl. Rajputs fearsome openers Brendon McCullum and Mohammad Shazad could put on only 11 runs before Richard Gleeson clean bowled Shahzad for 9. Rashid Khan bowled a brilliant second over giving away just four runs.

In the third over, Faulkner had Rilee Rossouw caught behind for 2. Roelof van der Merwe clean bowled another dangerous batsman Carlos Brathwaite for 2. Ben Dunk began by hitting Merwe for a six. Dwayne Bravo dismissed another danger man and captain McCullum for 7 with the first ball of the sixth over. When Karim Janat too fell for 8 runs in the seventh over, UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa joined Dunk. Unfortunately Dunk got run out in the eighth over for 14 and Rajputs slipped to 49 for 6 in 7.2 overs. Gleeson, who was reintroduced, had Qais Ahmad caught behind for 1 while Mustafa remained unbeaten on 7.

Chasing the score, Arabians inform opener Zazai hit Rajput’s opening bowler Oshane Thomas for three consecutive boundaries off the first three balls of the first over. In the next over, when Tymal Mills bounced at Zazai he pulled him for a six. Zazi also hit Mills to third man for a six. Alex Hales too hit Sayed Shirzad, who bowled the third over, for a six and also square drove him for a boundary. In the fifth over Hales lifted Karim Janat for a six over long on and reached the target with 30 balls to spare.

Brief scores:

Maratha Arabians bt Rajputs by 10 wkts. Rajputs 63-7 in 10 overs (Richard Gleeson 2 for 9, James Faulkner 2 for 13) Maratha Arabians 64-0 in 5 overs (Hazratullah Zazai 29n.o, Alex Hales 27n.o).