Abu Dhabi T10: Will Jacks smashes 57 off 22 balls as Bangla Tigers register first victory

Abu Dhabi, November 22, 2021

Bangla Tigers registered their first victory in the Abu Dhabi T10 after defeating Northern Warriors by 5 wickets on Sunday.

After Captain Rovman Powell's innings of 63 runs helped the Warriors post a total of 126/4, Will Jacks played a blistering innings of 57* runs from 22 balls to help the Tigers chase down their target in 9.1 overs.

The Bangla Tigers were in dire straits when they lost five wickets for just 58 runs on the board.

Jacks showed tremendous form when he smashed Samit Patel for two fours and a six in the second over, however, he kept losing partners at the other end until Benny Howell walked to the crease.

Howell made his intentions clear when he smacked Chris Jordan for two boundaries and a six in the seventh over. Jacks took the game completely away from the Warriors when he struck three boundaries and a six off Abhimanyu Mithun's bowling in the eighth over.

Jacks (57* from 22 balls) and Howell (35* from 11 balls) strung an unbeaten partnership of 72 runs in 29 balls to take the Tigers home with 5 balls to spare.

Earlier, the Bangla Tigers had the Northern Warriors on the mat after Gareth Delany was dismissed by Luke Wood in the first over and Kennar Lewis was bowled out by James Faulkner in the second over, leaving the Warriors at 13/2 in 1.2 overs. Moeen Ali got things going for the Northern Warriors as he struck Isuru Udana for two boundaries and Karim Janat for three boundaries in the third and fourth overs respectively. However, Ali's stay at the crease was short-lived as he was bowled out by Janat for 24 runs from 12 balls in the fourth over itself.

Thereafter, Captain Rovman Powell took centre stage and smashed Benny Howell for a six and a four in the fifth over. He rode on the momentum and went on to play a blistering innings of 63 runs from 27 balls, laced with 4 boundaries and 6 sixes. Powell was ably supported by Samit Patel, who scored 21* runs from 13 balls and also strung a partnership of 80 runs from 35 balls with his skipper. Powell and Patel's explosive batting catapulted the Warriors to a total of 126/4 in their 10 overs.

Brief scores: Bangla Tigers 130/5 (Will Jacks 57*, Benny Howell 35*, Umair Ali 1-9) beat Northern Warriors 126/4 (Rovman Powell 63, Moeen Ali 24, James Faulkner 1-18) by 5 wickets.

In an earlier match on Sunday, captain Dwayne Bravo and Eoin Morgan's cool and calm innings ensured that the Delhi Bulls walked off with a five-wicket victory against The Chennai Braves.

After being put in to bat by the Delhi Bulls, The Chennai Braves put up 124/2 in their 10 overs. After the Delhi Bulls lost their top four batsmen cheaply, the experienced duo of Bravo (43 runs from 17 balls) and Morgan (26* runs from 12 balls) strung a partnership of 56 runs in 22 balls, which helped the Delhi Bulls chase down their target in 9.4 overs.

The Delhi Bulls suffered a huge blow when Munaf Patel removed Rilee Rossouw and Sherfane Rutherford in the second over. Roman Walker made matters worse when he dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohammad Hafeez in the fifth over. Thereafter, Captain Bravo got things moving with the Bulls as he smashed three boundaries off Dasun Shanaka's bowling in the sixth over. Curtis Campher kept The Chennai Braves' hopes alive when he removed Bravo in the ninth over. However, Morgan and Romario Shepherd scored 14 runs in the last over and closed out the game for the Delhi Bulls with two balls to spare.

Earlier, Bhanuka Rajapaksa played a blistering innings of 64* runs from 31 balls, laced with 6 fours and 4 sixes and helped The Chennai Braves post a high total on the board. Rajapaksa took on Mohammad Hafeez, smashing him for two boundaries and a six in the fourth over. The opening batters Rajapaksa and Mark Deyal produced some fantastic hits and recorded a partnership of 81 runs from 34 balls.

After losing Deyal and Dasun Shanaka in quick succession, Ravi Bopara joined the party as he smacked Fazalhaq Farooqi and Romario Shepherd for a boundary and a six in the ninth and tenth overs respectively. Bopara remained unbeaten on 19 runs from 11 balls as The Chennai Braves raised their score to 124/2 in their 10 overs.

Brief scores: Delhi Bulls 128/5 (Dwayne Bravo 43, Eoin Morgan 26*, Munaf Patel 2-20) beat The Chennai Braves 124/2 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 64*, Mark Deyal 29, Romario Shepherd 1-16) by 5 wickets.

In another match, Team Abu Dhabi secured a thrilling four-wicket victory over Deccan Gladiators. Team Abu Dhabi seemed down and out when they needed 31 runs to win from the last two overs, but Jamie Overton and Danny Briggs had other plans.

Overton smashed Andre Russell for a six and a four as the Gladiators gathered 17 runs from the penultimate over. Overton scored 9 runs off the first five balls of the last over, reducing the equation to 5 runs needed off the last ball. With Hamid Hassan walking off the ground with an injury, Anwar Ali was given the responsibility of bowling the last delivery. Danny Briggs top-edged the final delivery and Russell, near the boundary rope, got a hold of the ball at fine-leg and threw it back into the ground. However, the umpires checked if Russell made contact with the boundary rope while carrying out the catch, and thereafter, a six was given to Team Abu Dhabi.

Wanindu Hasaranga bowled brilliantly early on in Team Abu Dhabi's innings. He dismissed Captain Liam Livingstone, Colin Ingram, Chris Benjamin and Marchant de Lange, leaving Team Abu Dhabi at 51/6 in 5.3 overs. Thereafter, Overton and Briggs held their nerve and took Team Abu Dhabi to victory.

Earlier, Fidel Edwards rocked the Deccan Gladiators after trapping Tom Banton LBW and bowling out Tom Moores for nought in the first over itself. Naveen-ul-Haq made matters worse for the Gladiators when he dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Andre Russell in successive deliveries, leaving the Gladiators at 18/5 in 4.2 overs. Thereafter, Wanindu Hasaranga tried to get a move on for the Deccan Gladiators. He struck Naveen-ul-Haq for two boundaries in the fifth over and then smashed a four and a six off Danny Briggs' bowling in the next over. However, Hasaranga tried to steal a quick single off the first delivery of the seventh over and found himself well short of the crease.

Following the Sri Lankan's departure, Odean Smith took centre stage for the Gladiators. He smashed Marchant de Lange for two sixes and a four in the ninth over, taking the Gladiators' score to 87/7. Smith's quick-fire innings of 34 runs from 11 balls helped his team reach a competitive score of 97/9 in their 10 overs.

Brief scores: Team Abu Dhabi 99/6 (Jamie Overton 33*, Liam Livingstone 21, Wanindu Hasaranga 4-12) beat Deccan Gladiators 97/9 (Odean Smith 34, Wanindu Hasaranga 30, Fidel Edwards 2-10) by 4 wickets.

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