ESPNcricinfo staff
New York Strikers 121 for 5 (Gurbaz 56, Qais 2-24) beat Samp Army 80 for 9 (Qais 31*, Holder 22, Hosein 5-6) by 41 runs
Akeal Hosein’s sensational 5 for 6 in two overs dismantled Samp Army as New York Strikers posted a 41-run win in the Qualifier 1 to storm into the Abu Dhabi T10 final, on Friday.
Defending 121, Strikers’ left-arm spinner picked up a hat-trick in the first over of the innings, dismissing Andries Gous, Dewald Brevis and Ibrahim Zadran, to leave Samp Army reeling at 1 for 3. In his second over, he removed the opposition captain Faf du Plessis and Najibullah Zadran in the space of three balls to further rattle Samp Army. Jason Holder’s 22 of 11 and Qais Ahmad’s unbeaten 31 off 13 at No.10 meant Samp Army huffed and puffed to 80 for 9.
Earlier, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s blazing 56 off 28 set the tone for Strikers to post a competitive 121 for 5. His knock included four fours and five sixes. In the end, Asif Ali smashed three fours in his unbeaten seven-ball knock of 17 to further lift Strikers
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Deccan Gladiators 114 for 0 (Pooran 70*, Kohler-Cadmore 43*) beat Bangla Tigers 112 for 6 (Naib 52, Russell 2-21, Thushara 2-22) by ten wickets
A six-hitting show by Nicholas Pooran and Tom Kohler-Cadmore helped Deccan Gladiators eliminate Bangla Tigers. Gladiators will now take on Samp Army in Qualifier 2.
Chasing 113, Gladiators hardly broke a sweat and romped home by ten wickets with 20 balls to spare. Pooran finished on 70 not out off just 25 balls with eight fours and five sixes. Kohler-Cadmore kept him company with a 16-ball 43 and hit four fours and three sixes.
This was after Gulbadin Naib’s 26-ball 52 not out propelled Tigers to 112 for 6. Batting at No. 5, Naib hit two sixes and three fours after coming in at 20 for 3 in the third over but this didn’t prove to be enough.
Andre Russell and Nuwan Thushara, meanwhile, returned two wickets apiece.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
