CLT20 2012: Auckland beat Sialkot Stallions by six wickets
Johannesburg: Oct 9, 2012
Auckland dished out a disciplined all-round performance to notch up a comfortable six-wicket victory over Sialkot Stallions in the qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in Johannesberg on Tuesday.
Lead by Kyle Mills (2/6), Ronnie Hira (2/36) and Andre Adams (2/21), Auckland first restricted Sialkot Stallions to a modest 130 for nine in their stipulated 20 overs after they decided to bat.
The Auckland team then returned to overhaul the target with 2.5 overs to spare at the New Wanderers stadium.
For Auckland, opener Martin Guptill was the top-scorer with his 32-ball 40-run innings, while Lou Vincent (20), Azhar Mahmood (24) and A Kitchen (33 not out) made useful contributions.
Shahid Yousuf top-scored for the Stallions with a 25-ball 39 which was laced with three sixes and equal number of boundaries. But the Stallions could not build partnerships and lost wickets in regular intervals.
Guptill, who had five fours and a six in his 32-ball stay, lead the runchase with a 32-run opening stand with Vincent, who smashed three fours and a six in his 16-ball innings.
Guptill also starred in a 51-run second wicket stand in 40 balls with Azhar, who scored three fours in his 23-ball innings. Once the opener was dismissed, Kitchen lead the chase and took his team home. His 21-ball innings was studded with two fours and two sixes.
Earlier, the Stallions had a subdued start as Mills and Bates bowled in rhythm, giving away just 11 in the first five over. Bates brought the first break through, dismissing opener Shakeel Ansar (1) in the second over when he had him caught at mid-on by Anaru Kitchen.
In the sixth over, Sialkot had a big over when Haris Sohail (12) hit Azhar for a six and a four and Nazir smashed another six at the fine leg region. (PTI)
Brief Scores: Sialkot Stallions 130 for 9 in 20 overs (Shahid Yousuf 39, Shoaib Malik 19; Kyle Mills 2 for 6, Andre Adams 2 for 21, Ronnie Hira 2 for 36) lost to Auckland 136 for 4 in 17.1 overs (Martin Guptill 40, Anaru Kitchen 33*, Azhar Mahmood 24; Sarfaraz Ahmad 2 for 31) by 6 wickets.