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

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.

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.

.@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.

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.