Highlights T10 League at Sharjah, 5/6th place playoff, Team Sri Lankan Cricket vs Bengal Tigers: Tigers win by 6 wickets

Bhanuka Rajapaksa named the Man of the Match for his 65 off 27 balls.

Bengal Tigers 118/4 after 9.2 overs

Perera to Anwar Ali. Single off the first ball. Over to Miller then. Two needed off five balls. Quicker delivery and inside edged to the boundary.

Bengal Tigers beat Team Sri Lankan Cricket by 6 wickets. They finish fifth. The Lankans finish last, but earn priceless experience playing against some of the top stars of world cricket.

Bengal Tigers 113/4 after 9 overs

Miller gets a six. Big hit in front of square on the on-side. And goes on the off-side for consecutive sixes. Seven runs needed off seven balls now. Gets a full toss and dismissed by Miller through cover for a four. The Tigers are almost home.

Bengal Tigers 92/4 after 8 overs

Darren Sammy comes into bat. Shehan Jayasuriya with some spin. The third ball is wide on the leg stump and the ball runs away to the fence. Wide again. 

OUT! Sammy gone. Caught at long-on. No mistake from Hasaranga in the deep. Sammy looks at the toe of his bat.

Anwar Ali comes in. Gets a juicy full toss and sends it over the ropes. The last ball heaved away towards long-on. 24 runs needed off 12 balls.

Bengal Tigers 74/3 after 7 overs

Kasun Madushanka continues and Charles goes 105 metres back. That’s on the roof. 

OUT! The next ball is a skier. Mistimed by Charles. Caught by Munaweera. Well-judged by him. Charles out for 36 off 15 balls.   

David Miller walks in to the centre. Kohler not getting his timing right. The next ball is speared in. Miller digs it out for a single. 

OUT! And Kohler falls. Bowled wide of the off stump. Kohler doesn’t time it and holes out to long-off. 24 off 17 balls for Kohler.

Bengal Tigers 65/1 after 6 overs

Lahiru Madushanka into the attack now. Square drive for a single off the first ball by Charles. A single for Kohler and Charles tees off. Golf shot for six. Kohler gives the charge and Lahiru bowls it wide. Beats the batsman. Lahiru goes wide again. Single off the last ball. 51 needed off the last four overs.

Bengal Tigers 55/1 after 5 overs

Kasun Madushanka into the attack. Kohler gets a length ball and goes straight as an arrow. SIX! 90 metres back. Slower delivery next. An Alubond dot ball! Kohler swats one through the region in front of square leg for a boundary. Not a lot else in that over. The players take a strategic break at the end of that over.

Bengal Tigers 43/1 after 4 overs

Shehan Madushanka bowls the fourth over. Charles goes straight. Hit with tremendous power. Four. Madushanka bangs it in. Beats Charles’s pull. Follows it up with a bouncer. Wide called. Then a swing and a miss. Powerplay overs done and dusted.

Bengal Tigers 35/1 after 3 overs

Some spin now. Rambukwella into the attack. Delport cuts the first ball of the next over, but finds the fielder. 

OUT! Delport tries to go over mid-on, but is caught by Hasaranga. Tigers are one down  

Johnson Charles comes in and clears mid-wicket easily. Starts off with a SIX. Charles goes again. That is hit straight into the lap of wide long-on, but such was the power in that shot, the fielder loses control and the ball goes out of his grasp and hits vthe ropes. The last ball is smashed over long-on for a six.

Bengal Tigers 19/0 after 2 over

Delport gets one towards wide long-on. Tumbling stop at the fence. Fine drive by Delport off a low full toss and well fielded at mid-off. Saved a certain four. But the Tigers collect a four. Delport goes on the leg side. The last ball is hit back hard. Fielded at long-on. Single.

Bengal Tigers 11/0 after 1 over

Asanka to Kohler. Off the mark with a single. Gets one through extra cover for a boundary. Asanka lets the ball through his legs, concedes a single. Sloppy. Follows it with a low full toss. One bounce and four at long-off.

Tom Kohler and Cameron Delport open the innings for the Tigers. Alankara Asanka bowls the first over.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 115/4 after 10 overs

De Lange bowls the last over. The Lankans are not timing the ball in the last over so far. Some sloppy work from the Tigers and the Lankans get an overthrow. Some improvisation from Perera next. The boundary stays elusive. The last ball is hit high and just about pulled back inside the ropes at wide long-off. A good last over for the Tigers. Bhanuka Rajapaksa stood out with 65 off 27 balls.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 108/4 after 9 overs

Angelo Perera is the new batsman. Naveed into the attack. Bhanuka gets a single. Perera hits one hard down the ground. Great stop at long-on. Perera swivels and finds the gap behind square for a boundary, followed by a punch for a single. Ball hitting Perera’s bat produces a gunshot-like sound. 

OUT! Bhanuka finally falls. Bowled, while trying to get some quick runs.     

Kithuruwan Vithanage comes in. Single off the first ball.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 96/3 after 8 overs

Yamin into the attack. Bhanuka moves outside leg and turns the ball away for one. And a cheeky shot from Jayasuriya. Reverse sweep past short fine leg for a boundary. The next ball takes the top edge of Jayasuriya’s bat and goes over the ‘keeper and runs away to the fence.

OUT! Jayasuriya goes across the stumps and tries to play the lap sweep. The ball is full and disturbs Jayasuriya’s furniture. Another wicket down for the Lankans. Rambukwella is the new man in. The first ball is smashed over extra cover for six.

OUT! Rambukwella swats the next ball and holes out at long-on.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 81/1 after 7 overs

Anwar Ali continues. Good variations of pace. A wide and three singles in the first four balls. Short and wide and Bhanuka goes hard at it. Opens the face of the bat and sends it to the backward point fence. Brings the bottom hand into  play and jabs the next ball down to long-off.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 72/1 after 6 overs

Nawaz comes into the attack. A single of the first ball brings up the Lankans’ fifty. The second balls is a gift. Full toss on the pads. SIX for Bhanuka. Bhanuka cuts fine and beats Sammy, who got a hand to it. Slog sweeps and Anwar Ali lost the ball at the deep mid-wicket fence. Four! And that’s fifty. Bhanuka comes down the track off the next ball and Bhanuka hits it over fine leg for a six. Sarfraz is beside himself with rage. The next ball goes behind the ‘keeper. Could be a catch, but not within the reach of the fielder. Sarfraz is still fuming. A huge over for the Lankans.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 49/1 after 5 overs

Anwar Ali to Bhanuka. Plays and misses as the first ball angles away from the left-hander. Munaweera goes after Ali and holes out at wide long-on. He is out for 11 off 13 balls. Time for a strategic timeout. Ali to Bhanuka after the break. That ball skids on and stays down. Play and a miss. That was not far from the pads. Would have been plumb. Shehan Jayasuriya is the new man and almost gets himself run out without facing a ball. But he is home. Steep delivery. No connection.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 48/1 in the 5th over

Anwar Ali to Bhanuka. Plays and misses as the first ball angles away from the left-hander. Munaweera goes after Ali and holes out at wide long-on. He is out for 11 off 13 balls. Time for a strategic timeout.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 47/0 after 4 overs

De Lange into the attack for the last over of the powerplay. Dismissed by Munaweera to the mid-wicket fence. De Lange comes back with a skiddy bouncer, almost hits Munaweera on the helmet. Nearly a collision between Munaweera and De Lange. Down Bhanuka’s pads. Wide called. On the legs again. Bhanuka picks it up and nearly clears the ropes at backward square leg. That is the 190th boundary in the tournament so far. The third man is in the circle. Good yorker to finish.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 36/0 after 3 overs

Naveed into the attack. Munaweera gets a boundary of his own. Bhanuka goes over the top again. Over extra cover and into the stands. A spectator almost fell from his seat trying to catch that. Bhanuka Rajapaksa looks a very impressive player. Should be playing for the national team, don’t you think?

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 25/0 after 2 overs

Yamin into the attack. Bhanuka goes over cover-point and the ball runs away to the fence. Smashes the next one through point. Four again. A lot of people have left for home. It is very late in the night! Another boundary through point. Squeezes a drive. Bottom hand into the play. The musicians are playing on. Gives the impression that we are playing in Sri Lanka. The next bal is short and Bhanuka slaps it away to mid-wicket for four. Gets one to third man. Five fours off five balls. Incredible stuff this. Comes down the track off the last ball. The ball is a full toss, and quite high too. Edged towards third man. Just short of the diving fielder. Not a no ball, says the umpire.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 3/0 after 1 over

Tigers starting with a spinner. Mohammad Nawaz to start off. Bhanuka and Munaweera start off for the Lankans. An inconsequential match, but the players of both teams would want to make an impression and seek a consolation win. Three runs off the first five balls. An attempted sweep and hit on the body. That was going down leg. Sedate start for he Lankans.

Maratha Arabians’ Rilee Rossouw is Man of the Match for his whirlwind innings against the Punjabi Legends.

Toss: Sarfraz Ahmed spins the coin and calls correctly. Bengal Tigers will bowl.

Coming up next is the playoff for the 5th/6th place. Bengal Tigers take on Team Sri Lanka Cricket. Two teams that have just not taken flight.

.@ronchi04 scored a good half century for @PunjabiLegends_ #BusAbDus pic.twitter.com/a0db5ZO7zU

— T10 Global (@T10League) December 16, 2017

Punjabi Legends 116/3 after 10 overs

Zahoor Khan to bowl the last over. Brathwaite misses the first two balls. The batsmen try to steal a single and Ronchi run out as the ‘keeper Kamran Akmal hits the stumps at the striker’s end. Ronchi out for 56 off 31. Faheem Ashraf comes in. 29 needed off 4 balls. Wide. Ashraf drives. Brathwaite is almost at the other end. All he gets is one. Brathwaite needs to do an encore of the 2016 World T20 final to help his team qualify for the semis. Brathwaite edges a full toss and sends the ball past short third man. Four. They need a five to qualify. And Brathwaite takes an almighty swing. SIXXXX! Legends qualify under dramatic circumstances. YES, REMEMBER THE NAME! 

Legends go down by 14 runs, but they are off to the semis.

Punjabi Legends 101/2 after 9 overs

Bravo comes back into the attack. Seam-up delivery to start off. Wide. Round the wicket to Malik. Full and straight and Malik is caught plumb in front of the stumps. That would have knocked the middle stump out of the ground. A big wicket for the Arabians. Carlos Brathwaite of the ‘Remember the Name’ fame comes in. A fine fielding at the boundary saves a certain six. It is starting to drizzle again in Sharjah. Ronchi gets the fifth ball over backward point for a four. 100 up for the Legends. But is it all too late for them? They need 15 to qualify now. A single off the last ball. Legends need five sixes in the last over.  The drizzle is getting stronger, meanwhile.

Punjabi Legends 92/1 after 8 overs

Amir comes back into the attack. Bangs it in. Malik hammers it onto the ground. Single. Short ball. The batsman looks to guide it over the ‘keeper and misses. Amir overstepped there. Big no ball. Free-hit. But Amir comes back well and beats the batsman outside off. Amir building up some pace now. Hurries onto the batsman. Ronchi moves outside off and flicks the last ball to backward square leg for a couple. 39 runs needed off 12 balls.

Punjabi Legends 84/1 after 7 overs

Van Der Merwe continues. Malik gets after him. Sends a legnth ball cleanly over the ropes. A missed stumping opportunity off the fourth ball. Ronchi gives the charge. The bowler spears it down the leg side. Kamran Akmal doesn’t collect cleanly. Malik gives the charge on the next ball. The bowler goes wide. Almost beats Malik. That would have been another stumping chance.

Punjabi Legends 73/1 after 6 overs

Dwayne Bravo to Malik. Slower delivery. Malik waits and pulls it away to mid-wicket. Desperate dive at the boundary. Four all the way. The next ball is dismissed for another boundary. A good-looking drive by Malik on the next ball. Single. A full delivery next. Driven down the ground for one. Singles off the next two balls.

Punjabi Legends 61/1 after 5 overs

Van Der Merwe into the attack. Ronchi gets a full toss and slaps it straight past for a boundary. Maratha Arabians have to win to qualify for the semi-final. The Legends can lose, but can still make it to the next stage. For that they need to score at least 115. Five singles and a four in that over, and the players go to discuss strategy.

Punjabi Legends 52/1 after 4 overs

Viljoen continues. A hat-trick of boundaries for Ronchi. One through mid-wicket, the next vtwo on the off side. Gives the charge, Viljoen bangs it in and almost knocks Ronchi’s head off. Good aggression from the bowler after getting some stick. The next ball gets big on the batsman too. Ronchi plays it like a tennis forehand. Six! Hits the ropes on the full. Powerplay completed.

Punjabi Legends 33/1 after 3 overs

Mohammad Amir into the attack. Akmal tries to go over mid-on. Caught by Imad Wasim at the edge of the 30-yard circle. First wicket down for the Legends. Shoaib Malik comes in. Ronchi almost gets himself out, but gets a four instead. Just out of reach of the cover fielder. Amir is unlucky. The Legends steal a bye as Ronchi misses a slower one, but Kamran misfields behind the stumps. Malik walks across the stumps. Amir is interested. Can’t give that out.

Punjabi Legends 24/0 after 2 overs

Viljoen into the attack. Ronchi goes dead straight back over the top and collect four. Viljoen comes back and hits Akmal on the helmet with a well-directed short ball. Akmal was late into the shot. Ronchi moves outside leg, gives himself room and hits inside out for four. Repeats the shot and gets the same result. 15 runs from that over.

Punjabi Legends 9/0 after 1 over

Wasim to Ronchi. Off the mark straightaway. Umar Akmal takes strike with his brother chirping away behind the stumps. Goes over extra cover. Rossouw gives chase and pulls the ball inside the ropes. The Arabians concede four byes. Nine runs from the opening over.

Luke Ronchi and Umar Akmal to open the batting for the Legends. Imad Wasim has the ball for the Arabians.

Maratha Arabians 130/5 after 10 overs

Bopara to bowl the last over. Starts with a wide, but comes back well with a slower ball that took ages to arrive. And again! Van Der Merwe swings, but to no avail. Wide again. Van Der Merwe heaves one towards long-on. Slower delivery doing the trick. The ball went miles in the air, but didn’t get the distance. Umar Akmal completes the catch in the deep. Van Der Merwe out. Bravo on strike, with the batsmen crossing over while that ball was in the air. Gets a couple of the fifth ball. A better throw cpould have had the batsmen in trouble. A slower delivery to end. A fine last over from the highly experienced Bopara. Just six runs from that over. The first 5 over of the Arabian innings went for 59 runs and the next 5 only for 51. But a very stiff target for the Punjabi Legends nevertheless.

Maratha Arabians 124/5 after 9 overs

Chris Jordan to bowl the penultimate over. Low full toss. Van Der Merwe can’t get it away. Rossouw slashes over the in-field. Can’t it the boundary he was looking for. Rossouw sends sailing towards the long-on fence. Big and tall Carlos Brathwaite takes a fine catch right on the fence. Kept his balance and was careful not to step on the rope. Rossouw departs after a blistering 67 off 27. Dwayne Bravo strides in. Van Der Merwe gets possessed by the spirit of Brendon McCullum and guides a near-yorker past short fine leg, while tumbling over. Extraordinary shot. Tries it again, but can’t pull it off this time around. That shot takes years to perfect. Bravo is off the mark with an uppish drive to long-off.

Maratha Arabians 115/4 after 8 overs

Reolof Van Der Merwe is the new man in the middle. Hasan Ali to bowl the eighth over. Slower one and Rossouw welcomes him by lofting the ball over backward square leg for a six. A full delivery. A single for Rossouw. Full and wide. Van Der Merwe tries a drive, but can’t connect. But it doesn’t take him long to fetch a boundary. Slashes one through backward point. Rossouw tries a reverse paddle sweep off the last ball. Can’t get it away.

Maratha Arabians 103/4 after 7 overs

Dawlat Zadran to Rossouw. The first ball is full in in the slot. Rossouw launches into it. SIX! That’s the fastest fifty in the competition so far. Fifty off 18 balls. Points to his wrists as if he is pointing to a watch. It’s all about timing, Rossouw would have been saying and he is mighty right. Zadran comes back well with the next two balls. Spoils the good work with a wide then. Followed by a full and wide one outside off. Rossouw guides it over the ropes at long-off. Arabians bring up 100 in style. Smashes the next one, but straight to long-on. Whiteley gets one on the splice of the bat and the ball goes straight up. The catch is taken. Whiteley is out.

Maratha Arabians 89/3 after 6 overs

Sohail and Arbaaz Khan are here and they are sitting with the Great Khali. Ravi Bopara comes into the attack. Bopara is a seasoned campainer, but gets cut through backward point for four. Ten runs from that over.

Maratha Arabians 79/3 after 5 overs

Ashraf back into the attack. Rossouw walks across the stumps and blasts him through cover. But there is a man in the deep. Only a single. Ashraf gives the Legends a breakthrough as he gets rid of Stanikzai. The Afghan drags the ball onto his stumps. Was playing high risk cricket and paid the price in the end. Strategic timeout btaken at the fall of that wicket. Ross Whiteley comes into the crease. Gets a short delivery. Almost chops it back onto the stumps. The ball is tantalisingly close to the stumps. Wrong-foots the wicket-keeper to the boundary. The batsmen re going for a quick single and the fielder at extra cover has a shy at the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Whiteley was not ever in the screen when the throw came in. Direct hit would have had him. Meanwhile Rossouw going strong. Slices a boundary at baackward point. An attacking shot off the last ball. Single.

Maratha Arabians 69/3 after 4.2 overs

Ashraf back into the attack. Rossouw walks across the stumps and blasts him through cover. But there is a man in the deep. Only a single. Ashraf gives the Legends a breakthrough as he gets rid of Stanikzai. The Afghan drags the ball onto his stumps. Was playing high risk cricket and paid the price in the end. Strategic timeout taken at the fall of that wicket.

Maratha Arabians 68/2 after 4 overs

Stanikzai gets a yorker, but edges it to the boundary at third man. This is T10 cricket for you. Slower ball and Stanikzai sends it way in the air. Doesn’t time it at all. Falls safely at wide long-on. A couple taken. The next ball is in the slot for Stanikzai and he takes a good, clean swing at it. The ball sails over the ropes at wide mid-on. Stanikzai’s batting would give any coach a heart attack but it’s effective! Gets a single and gives Rossouw the strike. A full delivery and he tries to squeeze it through backward point and short third man. Half-stopped. That was headed to the boundary. Good work by the fielder there. The last ball is in the slot for Stanikzai to have a swing again. Boundary backward of square. What an over for the Arabians. Powerplay completed.

Maratha Arabians 49/2 after 3 overs

Hasan Ali to Stanikzai. Heaved away to the boundary. Stanikzai tries a heave again, beaten by pace. Rain stops play, but we are back in no time. What would that break do to the batsmen’s concentration? Rossouw is not perturbed at all. Six and four. A pick up for six with authority, and gets one through the gap behind square on the off side. And then a massive six to finish. That’s on the roof. That’s 103 metres long. 23 runs of that over.

Not much of a rain break. The rain has gone away. The players are out on the field.

Some drizzle again. The rain has got a bit heavier. The players are going off again. The covers are coming on. Play stopped after 2.2 overs. Maratha Arabians are 31/2.

Maratha Arabians 26/2 after 2 overs

Rilee Rossouw and Stanikzai at the crease. Dawlat Zadran into the attack. Four and six. Inexperience of the Afghan bowler showing. Short of a length and pulled with disdain by Rossouw. The third delivery cramps Rossouw for room. Through him. Goes between Rossouw’s pads and leg stump. Zadran goes through Rossouw again off the next ball. The next ball is short and on the leg side and the ball beats Luke Ronchi behind the stumps and runs to the fence. Rossouw gives the charge on the last ball of the over. Doesn’t time it as well as he would have liked. Beats the diving fielder at mid-on. Four to end the over.

Maratha Arabians 12/2 after 1 over

Ashraf to Kamran Akmal. Pakistani to Pakistani. The first ball is slashed over backward point for a four. Not far away from the outstretched hands of the fielder. Good start for the Arabians though. Drama off the next ball. Short of a length delivery. Akmal pulls, but is hurried into the shot. Doesn’t connect properly. The ball almost trickled onto the stumps. Akmal somehow prevents the ball from running onto the stumps. But Hales is almost at the striker’s end. Ashraf collects and throws down the stumps at the other end. Hales out without facing a ball. Kamran gets a boundary away. Horrendous fielding by Kamran’s brother Umar at the square leg boundary. Four. Then a wicket! Kamran hits one straight to the fielder at mid-off. Asghar Stanikzai comes in and jumps out. Inside edge. Four. Not great thinking from the Afghan player. Tries to attack the next ball too. No room to play that shot. A breathless over comes to an end.

Alex Hales and Kamran Akmal stride out to the centre for the Maratha Arabians. Faheem Ashraf to open the bowling for the Punjabi Legends.

Kerala Kings all-rounder Kieron Pollard wins the Man of the Match for his performance against Team Sri Lankan Cricket.

Toss: Maratha Arabians’ stand-in skipper Imad Wasim spins the coin. Punjabi Legends captain Misbah-ul-Haq wins the toss and elects to bowl. In T10 cricket it is better to plan a chase, says Misbah. Arabians’ regular skipper Virender Sehwag is out with back spasms.

The next match promises to be a cracker. Maratha Arabians up against Punjabi Legends. Don’t go anywhere.

.@KeralaKingsT10 are the second team to march into the semi-finals after a wonderful display by Walton & @KieronPollard55 #BusAbDus

— T10 Global (@T10League) December 16, 2017

Kerala Kings 92/2 after 6.1 overs

Shehan Madushanka to bowl the penultimate over and is hammered for six off the first ball. And that’s game, set and match for the Kerala Kings. Pollard hammered the bowlers to all parts. Unbeaten 40 off 12 balls for the West Indian. Walton played some attractive shots too.

Kerala Kings win by 8 wickets.

Kerala Kings 86/2 after 6 overs

Back after the rain break. The target revised to 91 off 8 overs. Vishwa Fernando to Pollard. The 100th six in this format. Hammered over long-on. Short-pitched. Came a bit slower than Pollard expected. Another short ball. A half-tracker really. Pollard pulls it over square leg. Now runs required is less than balls left. Fernando comes round the wicket. Goes between Pollard’s pads and his leg stump. How did that not knock the leg stump out of the ground? Another huge six at mid-wicket for Pollard. 19 runs off that over. Five needed off 12 balls.

The players make their way out of the ground as it begins to drizzle a bit.

Kerala Kings 67/2 after 5 overs

Wanindu Hasaranga into the attack. Pollard withdraws. Something seems to have fallen into his eye. Two singles and then Pollard goes straight and sends the ball almost into the commentary box. Goes over the top again. Over long-on. Didn’t get all of it. ‘Catch’ is the call, but maybe someone beyond the ropes can attempt one. Six again. A single and a dot ball off the next two balls. The Kings have made solid progress. And that’s the strategic timeout.

Kerala Kings 52/2 after 4 overs

Kasun Madushanka comes in now. Madushankas galore. Starts off with a low full toss. Walton clears the in-field for a couple. Kasun to Eoin Morgan. BOWLED ‘EM! Trying to play his characteristic heave towards wide mid-on. Chops it onto his stumps. Out for 1. Huge wicket that. Big Kieron Pollard strides in. Walton meanwhile keeps going. Square drive over cover. No stopping that. Great placement. Four. And launches into the next. Full toss and six! More height than distance on that but enough to clear the ropes at mid-wicket. 61 needed off 36 balls now. Powerplay completed.

Kerala Kings 38/1 after 3 overs

Lahiru Madushanka into the attack. Walton hits one in the air. Just short of the fielder in the deep. Almost gets run out off the next ball. Good over that for the Lankans after the mayhem in the preceding over. Just fours runs from it.

Kerala Kings 34/1 after 2 overs

Shehan Madushanka into the attack. Stirling ries to send the first ball into outer space. The ball goes high up into the night sky. Easily caught. Kings lose their first wicket. The batsmen had crossed and Walton will face the next ball. Flicks it away to the fence at mid-wicket. Gets another boundary in the same direction. Not too far from the fielder at mid-wicket. Would have been a great catch. Gets a short of a length delivery. That ball is high and handsome and into the stands. Beautifully hit, so easy on the eye is Walton. One foot off the ground and a swivel. Goes over extra cover. Spanked for four. And another four. On the pads and turned past short fine-leg. Very expensive over.

Shehan Jayasuriya. Stirling ries to send the first ball into outer space. The ball goes high up into the night sky. Easily caught. Kings lose their first wicket.

Kerala Kings 12/0 after 1 over

The first ball is driven to point. No run. Caught on the creae and rapped on the pads on the second ball. Big appeal. Not given. Would have pitched outside leg stump. Gets a boundary next with a whipped shot to mid-wicket. Goes straight on the next ball. Consecutive boundaries for Walton. A brilliant drive then, but straight to the fielder. Positive start for the Kings.

Paul Stirling and Chadwick Walton to open the Kerala innings. Vishwa Fernando has the new ball.

Super last over for @TeamSriLankanC
3 sixes off it & they reach a total of 112-3#BusAbDus pic.twitter.com/rmpjjDEC16

— T10 Global (@T10League) December 16, 2017

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 112/3 after 10 overs

Emrit to bowl the last over. Rambukwella pulls the first ball of the over for six. Length ball disappears. That was from the foot of the blade, and looks like the bat is broken. Goes over wide long-on with the new bat. Six again. This man is big and strong and can hit a long ball. Goes down the ground. Single at long-on. Chandimal goes airborne towards long-on. Nice catch by Plunkett at the fence jumping up, but can’t keep he balance. Throws the ball back as he falls down. Saved five runs there did Plunkett. The next ball is a full toss and dispatched over the ropes straight by Rambukwella. The last ball produces a bye. Good, strong finish in the end for the Lankans. Rambukwella gave them a much-needed push with a six-ball 20 not out. This is a challenging total.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 91/3 after 9 overs

Tanvir to Bhanuka. Slower delivery, back of a length. Bhanuka swings and is early into the shot. BOWLED! Off pole knocked back. A good hand nevertheless from Bhanuka. Gave the Lankan innings some sort of momentum. The drummers are having a field day. Shehan Jayasuriya is the new man in. Misses the first ball and manages to get himself run out then. There was no need for that second run. Mindless running between the wickets. Rambukwella comes in. Tanvir bowls a fantastic yorker. Nothing much that Chandimal could have done there. Chandimal walks across the stumps and turns one past the short fine leg fielder and collects a boundary. Six runs and two wickets in that over.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 85/1 after 8 overs

Riaz into the attack. The first ball is hit for four. Riaz comes back with a fine yorker. Then messes everything up. Oversteps and Bhanuka squeezes the the ball to the fence at third man. No ball and it is a free hit. Bhanuka swings but misses one on the leg side. Free hit doesn’t help the Lankans. Full toss from Riaz. Bhanuka is on the charge. He looks a good prospect for Sri Lankan cricket. Single to deep point. The last ball is a bouncer and Chandimal hooks and fetches a boundary. 14 runs come from that over.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 71/1 after 7 overs

Bhanuka gets two consecutive sixes off Pollard. Attacking the area between cover and mid-on. The Lankans are getting a good move on. A cutter beats Bhanuka. That ball almost never arrived. Pollard follows it up with a quicker one. Bhanuka tries a ramp shot. Misses. Gets a cold stare from Pollard. The fifth ball produces a mix-up. Chandimal runs into Pollard as the bowler was trying to field the ball on his follow-through. Pollard shies at the stumps. Chandimal had given up. Pollard missses and Chandimal is safe. Waqar Younis and his family is in the syadium. The last ball is smashes by Chandimal for a six.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 52/1 after 6 overs

Plunkett starts after the strategic timeout. Bhanuka beaten off the next ball. Tries to cut. Misses. Good carry to the ‘keeper. Bhanuka gets a four next. Over extra over and into the fence. Hurried by the next ball. Tennis ball bounce.  The fifth ball is slow, but wrong line that. Chandimal goes down on one knee and gets it away to the fine leg fence. Collects another boundary. Gets the ball over the fine leg fielder. Nearly a Nataraj shot. Good over for the Lankans.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 38/1 after 5 overs

Pollard into the attack. A white pigeon is flying around the stadium. Chandimal gets one away towards wide long. Good fielding in the deep by Shakib. Chandimal is, however, all at sea. Not being able to connect too many. Plays oe to the leg side. One hand off the handle. Not played with conviction. Gets a boundary nevertheless. Tries to force the pace again. Finds the fielder. And with that the players disperse for a strategic timeout.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 29/1 after 4 overs

Emrit into the attack. Beats Munaweera’s pulls and the ball is not too far from the stumps. The Lankans have hit a rut. Something’s gotta give. Munaweera tries a cheeky shot, doesn’t connect. Rapped on the pads and it’s plumb. Munaweera out LBW. That would have crashed into off and middle. Bhanuka Rajapaksa is the new man in. Leaves the first delivery alone outside off. That is the Powerplay gone. Not utilised too well by the Lankans.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 27/0 after 3 overs

Liam Plunkett into the attack. Errs in line. Way down the leg side and beats the ‘keeper to the boundary. Munaweera goes over the in-field and collects a boundary next. Right from the middle of the bat. Tries a similar shot off the next ball. No connection. Makes room then but the bowler follws him. Cramped for space. A couple of leg byes and then a slower delivery. Munaweera beaten. Off-cutter from Plunkett there. Munaweera throws his bat at the last ball of the over and the ball flies to third man. Four.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 12/0 after 2 overs

Wahab Riaz bowls the second over. Runs coming just in singles. Kerala won’t mind that. Chandimal tries to go past mid-on. No timing. Can’t find the gap. Only four runs from that over. That’s priceless in T10 cricket.

Team Sri Lankan Cricket 8/0 after 1 over

The first ball is driven gently to cover. Bit of a fumble. A quick single. The third ball is wide outside off. The batsman chases. No connection. The next ball is wide again. The batsman finds the fielder. The next ball is hit to the fielder too. The Lankans are trying to force the pace, can’t find the gap. Ramp shot off the last ball. Over the ‘keeper. Four. Good end to the over.

There comes the Sri Lankan openers. Dilshan Munaweera and captain Dinesh Chandimal at the crease. Sohail Tanvir to start off proceedings for the Kerala Kings.

Liam Dawson of the Pakhtoons wins the Man of the Match award for an all-round show against the Bengal Tigers.

Toss time for the next match. Kerala Kings vs Team Sri Lankan Cricket. Dinesh Chandimal calls correctly and elects to bat.

Pakhtoons 130/4 after 10 overs

Zahir Khan to bowl the last over. Dawson gets two sixes off the first two balls. 5 needed off 4 balls. This turns the game, doesn’t it? The Pakhtoons are scampering for every run. A push and two runs taken. The match is slipping away from the Tigers. Single. Smith pulls the next ball and the scores are level. The fielders are being called in. The last ball is punched away by Dawson through the gap at point and that’s the win for Pakhtoons. Pakhtoons win by 6 wickets. Sarfraz hits the stumps in disappointment. May get a call from the match referee for that. Having an inexperienced bowler for the last over may not have been a great strategy.

Pakhtoons 110/4 after 9 overs

De Lange to bowl the penultimate over. Swing and miss from Smith. The next ball is full. Smith doen’t get a proper connection. Sarfraz takes a shy at the stumps and hits. The decision is referred to the third umpire. But the batsman is in. Third ball of the over… De Lange to Zaman and the batsman flicks it nonchalantly. Four! Just out of reach for Anwar Ali in the backward square leg fence. Zaman goes over cover then. Six! Goes again. The ball is high into the night sky. Miller takes a well-judged catch at long-on. That could be the match for the Tigers. Liam Dawson is the new man. Edgedddd and out of Sarfraz’s reach. A lucky boundary!  17 needed off the last over.

Pakhtoons 95/3 after 8 overs

Anwar to bowl the eighth over. The first ball is driven straight to extra cover by Smith. Sarfraz is coughing with the amount of shouting he is having to do. Zaman goe big and handsome. Scoops one over extra cover and into the stands. Caught in the stands. 1 million Pakistani rupees for the lucky spectator. Zaman tries to be cheeky with the next ball. Can’t get it away. The next ball is wide. Sarfraz doesn’t like it one bit. He will have to rebowl that. And Zaman goes big again. Clears the front leg and sends it deep into the crowd at mid-wicket. Down the ground next. Single. Full delivery to end the over. Dug out bby Smith. 32 needed off 12 balls.

Pakhtoons 79/3 after 7 overs

Afridi goes after the first ball from Naveed. It is skier, but falls short of the wide long-on fielder. A swing and a miss from Zaman next. Was close to being called a wide that. Zaman clears the front leg abd connects one sweetly. Over wide long-on and SIX! Slower ball travels the distance. The fourth ball is full. Zaman goes deep in his crease and squuezes it out to long on for a single. The fifth ball of the over has AFRIDI BOWLED! Middle stump uprooted. A perfect yorker. Some reverse swing there. Afridi gave a lot of room and missed it totally. 23 off 10 for Afridi. It needed a special delivery to get rid off a special player and Naveed produced one. Dwayne Smith joins Fakhar Zaman in the middle. 48 needed off 18 balls.

Pakhtoons 70/2 after 6 overs

Yamin back into the attack. Afridi picks a length delivery from outside off and flicks it for six. Goes over point next. The ball lands near the boundary, but the fielder runs around and prevents the ball from crossing the ropes. Fakhar Zaman has joined Afridi in the middle. Afridi squuezes the next one to third man. The fielder at the fence makes a hash of it. Concedes a four. Bengal captain Sarfraz Ahmed won’t be happy. A quick brace taken next. Sarfraz is livid. Afridi is throwing the kitchen sink at everything. Digs the last ball out. 57 runs needed off 24 balls.

Pakhtoons 55/2 after 5 overs

Zahir Khan to bowl the fifth over. Afridi has a go. The ball is high. Who wants it? Somebody should catch it. But the ball falls short. Shehzad comes down the track and skies it towards long off. Looks to have been beaten in flight. Miller takes a well-judged catch. Was careful not to step on the boundary rope. Shehzad falls after a whirlwind 38 off 17. Strategic timeout taken at the fall of that wicket. Afridi welcomes the bowler back with a massive six at mid-wicket. The next ball is short. Afridi fails to connect properly. Missed out on a boundary opportunity there.

Pakhtoons 46/1 after 4 overs

Anwar brought in. Shehzad makes room and goes over cover. Sublime shot. FOUR! The next ball is dismissed. High and handsome and on the roof. SIX! That went 100 metres back. Shehzad is matching Miller shot for shot already! Shahid Afridi’s daughter seems ecstatic in the stands. Another Four! Full toss on the leg side and Shehzad gives it direction. Scoops it backward of square. Next ball and another four. Shehzad clears his front leg, opens the face of the bat and collects a boundary at third man. Drives again and it looks good for another boundary, but the fielder gets around and stops it. A wicket then. Wide and low full toss. Tamim slashes at it. but can’t keep the ball down. Caught at backward point. Powerplays are over. Shahid Afridi comes in. Expect some real fireworks now.

Pakhtoons 27/0 after 3 overs

Naveed into the attack. And almost gets a wicket. Tamim goes airborne and the fielder at mid-on puts in an acrobatic effort. He gets his hand to it, but can’t hold on. The fourth ball is blasted through cover. No point chasing that. Hit with tremendous power. A bit of an appeal off the next ball. Would have missed tleg stump comfortably. Punches one down the ground and collects a single.

Pakhtoons 18/0 after 2 overs

De Lange to bowl the next over. Tamim moves across the stumps. Heaves and misses. The ball is not to far away from the leg stump. Wide? No. Yorker next and Tamim digs it out. The next ball brings out a sublime shot off the back foot by Tamim. Boundary through cover. ‘PAAAKHTOOONS’ goes the crowd. Goes straight past the bowler off the following ball. Well fielded by Darren Sammy at mid-on. Shehzad gets stuck into the bowler and sends the fifth ball of the over into orbit. SIX! Strong winds in the air ground. There may be some rain in the air too. The last ball is wayward. On the pads and flicked past short fine leg and into the fence by Shehzad. Good comeback by the Pakhtoon team after a tight first over.

Pakhtoons 3/0 after 1 over

A slip in place. The first balls swings away. Could be a wide. The umpire takes a good, hard look and decides against it. Single and Shehzad is on strike. Walks down the track and drives, but can’t find the gap. Shehzad off the mark with a push down the ground for one. Tamim rushes down the track and has an almighty swing. Misses it completely. Rush of blood from the Bangladesh opener. The first ball is fantastic for Bengal. Only three runs from it.

Right then, we are back for the second innings. Tamim Iqbal and Ahmed Shehzad are out in the middle to open the Pakhtoon innings. Tamim to take first strike. Aamer Yamin to start off for Bengal with his medium pace. A handy bowler.

Bengal Tigers 126/2 after 10 overs

Sohail into the attack now. Bravo gets a big hit going finally. Hit straight with authority for ba six. Gets lucky then. Making room outside leg and there’s the old French cut for a boundary. Takes a single and it’s over to ‘Killer Miller’ in the last three balls of the innings. Sohails bowls a beauty and the ball goes between Miller’s legs. Dot ball. Or should we say, Alubond dot ball. But then a baseball hit. Sohail tries a backhanded slower delivery with cross seam. Miller clears the mid-wicket fence with ease. The last ball is a yorker gone wrong. Full toss and six! Dropped in the stands. Bengal finish strongly after an early setback, and for that they have to thank Miller. 68 off 26 balls for Miller, 28 off 12 balls for Johnson Charles.

Bengal Tigers 103/2 after 9 overs

Imran Junior into the attack. Single to start off. Imran follws it up with a slower delivery. That ball was on the legs, and kissed Bravo’s pads on the way to the ‘keeper. Another slower ball. Miller takes a wild swing, but was early into the shot. That ball hit the off stump, but the bails didn’t come off. Miller takes a swing again and sends the ball towards fine leg. Four and fifty for the South African. Clears the front leg then and swings for a maximum.

Bengal Tigers 91/2 after 8 overs

Irfan back into the attack. Attempts a yorker. Errs in length and Miller turns him away off his pads for a boundary. The next ball is hit in forward of square on the leg side. A fantastic piece of fielding in the deep by Dawson saves a certain boundary. The third ball travels the full distance. Legth delivery and Miller takes a clean swing. Six over long on. Bouncer next. Miller gets a faint touch and over the the ‘keeper and collects another boundary. Miller is playing a superb cameo. Sends the ball spiralling over square leg then and it’s a six! Fifty partnership up. The last ball is dug out towards deep point. Single to end the over.

Bengal Tigers 68/2 after 7 overs

Sohail Khan into the attack now. Starts with two full deliveries. Chance for a run out. Tamim Iqbal at extra over had to effect a direct hit. He misses. No harm done for the Tigers. Another full delivery. Miller swings, but all that he can do is dig that ball out. No leverage for the batsmen to get underneath and swing. Another single off the fourth ball. Sohail gets the length slightly wrong with the next ball and Miller punishes him. It turned out to be a length ball and Miller sends the ball onto the roof straight. The last ball is short and Miller doesn’t time the pull. 11 runs from that over.

Bengal Tigers 57/2 after 6 overs

Imran Khan Junior with his left-arm medium pace now. The first three balls produce two runs. Miller looks for an attacking shot off the fourth ball. Straight to mid-wicket. Another single. The next ball is full and is dug out by Bravo for one. Another slow and full delivery to end the over. Lot of variation from the young bowler. Only five runs from that over. A very good over in the context of the game.

Bengal Tigers 52/2 after 5 overs

Gul comes in. The first ball is short of a length and Miller turns it away to the mid-wicket region for one. Bravo gets an inside edge and the ball runs away towards fine leg. Single again. The drummers are getting into the groove! And Bollywood actress Zareen Khan is in the house, sporting the Pakhtoon jersey. The Tigers batsmen are not getting their timing right at the moment. But as we speak, Miller square drives for a flat six. That would ease some pressure. Follows it up with another lofted shot, this time down the ground. Fielded at long off. Tigers have made steady progress at the halfway stage. Strategic timeout taken.

Bengal Tigers 41/2 after 4 overs

And here comes Afridi. The first ball has the ‘keeper excited. The decision goes upstairs. Charles looks to have had his foot grounded behind the line. Charles misses a slower one as he tries to heave it away towards mid-on. Big appeal, but the ball would have missed leg. The wily old Afridi follows it up with a quicker delivery and catches Charles plumb in front of the stumps. David Miller comes in and starts off with a quick single. Direct hit would have meant another wicket for the Pakhtoons. Fine over from Afridi. Powerplay ends.

Bengal Tigers 39/1 after 3 overs

Liam Dawson into the attack with his slow left-arm orthodox. And a wicket straightaway. The second bal of the over has Delport atempting a reverse sweep. Gets an inside edge onto his stumps. Bowled! Tigers one down. Darren Bravo comes in. Charles gets a boundary off the fifth ball. Rocks back and slaps it over point. Looks to give the bowler the charge off the last ball. A single is all that he would get.

Bengal Tigers 33/0 after 2 overs

Umar Gul into the attack. And… a wicket. Charles holes out to mid-on. But what’s this? Looks like Gul has overstepped and done so by a huge margin. Free hit. And Charles cashes in. The ball is full; Charles clears the front foot and goes over wide mid-on. Six. Charles is lucky to survive a run out chance next. A direct hit and he would have been on his way. Delport then gets a short delivery and pulls it away for a four. Lot of action in this over already. The next ball is played away towards mid-wicket. Zaman is quickly onto it. Single. The last ball is a juicy, juicy full toss. Charles helps himself to a six over wide long-on. A very expensive over, and worse, a chance of getting a wicket squandered. The highest score in the first two overs that a team has registered in the league so far.

Bengal Tigers 13/0 after 1 over

Some drama in the first ball itself. Irfan starts with a yorker on the legs. Johnson Charles at the non-striker’s end was really interested in a run. He has run almost to the other end. The big seven-footer Irfan almost effected a rugby tackle on Charles in his effort to collect the ball. Charles is scampering back. Irfan has a shy and misses, but wait, the POakhtoons are appealing for obstruction of the field. The umpires consult and go upstairs. Not out says the third umpire. Right decision, you would say. Charles was in real danger of being taken off his feet by Irfan, he was not the culprit. Anyway, Irfan resumes. The4 next ball is played away towards mid-wicket. Good fielding at the fence by Imran Khan Junior. Two runs. The fifth ball is shortish and Charles clears the front leg and smashes a six at mid-wicket. Follows it up with a four on the leg side. 13 runs from the opening over.

The Bengal openers Cameron Delport  and Johnson Charles are out in the middle. Mohammad Irfan starts off for the Pakhtoons.

Both teams observe a minute’s silence for the victims of the terror attack on a Peshawar school on this day in 2014 that killed 141 people including 132 schoolchildren.

Toss: Pakhtoons captain Shahid Afridi spins the coin and calls correctly. Invites the Tigers to have a bat.

Pitch report: It’s a pitch that is excellent for batting. The conditions are bright. Any target can be chased down. It is a beautiful surface. Win the toss and bat first should be the call.

Today’s second match!

Today’s first match! 

Day 3 of Heera T10 League will begin with @PakhtoonTeam facing @BengalTigersUAE #BusAbDus pic.twitter.com/InX626IgE5

— T10 Global (@T10League) December 16, 2017

Hello and welcome to the third day’s action of the T10 Cricket League taking place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.