Published: Sep 20, 2013, 03:33 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 20, 2013, 03:33 PM (IST)
Kumar Sangakkara © IANS
Sep 20, 2013
Kandurata Maroons: 136/7 | Overs 20 | Kulasekara 0* (Faisalabad Wolves win by 10 runs)
The Faisalabad Wolves go home with a win afterall! A close finish gave them a 10-run victory as their bowlers did well after Misbah had single-handed taken them to a defendable total of 146.
A splendid penultimate over from Asad Ali turned the tables after the two teams had gone neck-to-neck throughout the game. With 27 runs required from 12 balls, Asad bowled a tremendous over, bowling a couple of full deliveries in the blockhole. Having conceded just two runs from his over, the Maroons required 25 from the last over by Asad Ali.
New man Lokuhettige did not take too much time to settle down as he hit a boundary off Ehsan Adil in the 16th over. At the end of his over, the Maroons required 49 from the last four overs. Chamara Silva started the next over of Imran Khalid with a six over long-off. However, the slow bowler had the las laugh, getting rid of Silva. With 39 required from the last three overs, Misbah brought in Ajmal to keep the runs down. Ajmal conceded 11 runs but Asad Ali’s next over proved crucial.
Kandurata Maroons: 91/4 | Overs 15 | Chamara 14* OUT! Sangakkara 44 (36)
The Wolves have done well here! They have got rid of the dangerous Sangakkara in the 15th over after a terrible mix-up gave him his second reprieve of the game in the previous over. However, when he went after Imran Khalid in the 15th over, he was safely taken by Aamar Mahmood.
Khalid was brought on the 11th over and conceded just three runs. Ajmal too continued from the other end and bowled well.
The Maroons were on track with Sangakkara and Chamara at the centre but the wicket of Sangakkara has tipped the scales in favour of the Wolves. However, they will still need to close the opposition down with the Maroons needing 56 from the last 30 deliveries.
Kandurata Maroons: 57/3 | Overs 10 | Sangakkara 25*, Chamara 1* OUT! Tharanga 25 (27), Thirimanne 4 (6)
Asad Ali continued and conceded seven runs from a tight over, which saw Sangakkara score a boundary off a ball that was bowled on his hips with the fine leg fielder called up. The Sri Lankan southpaw pulled the ball over the fielder to the boundary.
Asad Ali continued and conceded seven runs from a tight over, which saw Sangakkara score a boundary off a ball that was bowled on his hips with the fine leg fielder called up. The Sri Lankan southpaw pulled the ball over the fielder to the boundary.
Right after the fielding restriction were relaxed, Misbah brought Saeed Ajmal on who conceded seven runs from his over. Misbah then threw the ball to Ehsan Adil. Adil managed to get rid off Tharanga in his first over to put the Wolves in a spot of bother. Misbah introduced off-break bowler Khurram Shehzad in the next over, in a bid to mix things up and pick up another wicket. Shehzad’s reflexes let him down when he dropped the catch of Sangakkara off his own bowling. Sangakkara then came down the wicket and chipped it over the bowler’s head to the boundary to take the team’s total past 50.
Adil came back to pick up another wicket, this time of the opposition skipper. He keeps new man Chamara Silva silent.
At the half-way stage the Maroons reached 57 for three.
Kandurata Maroons: 30/1 | Over 5 | Tharanga 19*, Sangakkara 9* OUT! Kandamby 0 (2)
The tinge of green gave Samiullah Khan a good start with the ball. he managed to beat Upul Tharanga’s bat on one ocassion and gave just one run away. His skipper Misbah clearly enjoyed that over. Asad Ali started the proceedings from the other end and was hit for three fours from the first three deliveries. Asad erred heavily in line and length by starting off with a short delivery outside the off-stump. He then attempted an inswinger but pitched it on middle and leg, allowing Tharanga to flick it to the mid-wicket boundary. The next ball was a juicy half-volley that was hit back to the straight boundary. Asad finished well to earn the first breakthrough by trapping Thilina Kandamby before the stumps. 13 runs and a wicket from the over.
Samiullah continued in the third over and did not give any width to the batsmen. Just three runs were taken from his second over. Asad made a good comeback after giving 13 runs off his first over and went for just two runs in his second.
Misbah gave Samiullah his third over in a bid to keep the runs down and pick up another wicket or two. Kumar Sangakkara started with a big six down the ground. The over finished with the Maroons on 30 for one.
Faisalabad Wolves: 146/6 | Overs 20 | Misbah 92*, Saeed Ajmal 1*
Misbah, you beauty! He finishes with 92 from just 60 deliveries to guide the Wolves to 146 for six.
He started by hitting 19 runs off Randiv in the 16th over but was kept quiet by Mendis in the following over. However, both batsmen Misbah and Salman covered up for it by taking 16 runs off Kulasekara in the 18th over.
A spectacular catch at deep midwicket saw Salman being dismissed for 21 off Lokuhettige in the first ball of the penultimate over. He managed to get rid of Imran Rashid with a slower one just two balls later.
The final over began with Misbah launching Kulasekara for a six. The batsmen took 11 runs from the over to finish at 146 for six.
Faisalabad Wolves: 89/4 | Overs 15 | Misbah 50*, Salman 9*
Another game where Misbah holds the key. He brought up his half-century off just 41 deliveries in the 15th over and has a bigger role to play in the remaining part of the game. It’s his seventh fifty in ten matches across formats. He slammed two boundaries off Suraj Randiv in the 12th over to keep the scoring rate going. Lokuhettige kept things tight. The Wolves reached 89 for four from 15 overs.
Faisalabad Wolves: 58/4 | Overs 10 | Misbah 28*, Salman 1* OUT! Khurram 7 (14)
New man Khurram Shehzad starts off with a perfect square cut off a short and wide delivery from Lahiru Jayaratne. Thirimanne then introduced spin via Milinda Siriwardena. He almost had Misbah’s wicket when the latter went for a big heave. The ball crossed the boundary line after the fielder at long-off failed to hold on to it. Jayaratne continued and bowled a tidy over, giving just three runs. However, Misbah continued his onslaught when Siriwardene came on for his second over. He slammed him for a six over long on and followed it up with a boundary through covers to get a move on for his side. The ninth over fetched 11 runs.
Thirimanne was quick to introduce Ajantha Mendis to stop Misbah and Khurrum from taking the momentum away from his side. Mendis repaid the faith by trapping Khurram before the stumps. At the half-way stage, the Wolves reached 58 for four.
Faisalabad Wolves: 23/3 | Overs 5 | Misbah 1*, Khurram 1* OUT! Ali Waqas 0 (1), Asif Ali 10 (10), Mahmood 10 (12)
Well, well, well… thats as eventful a start as this game could have anticipated. First, Ammar Mahmood flirted with danger in the first ball of the innings from Nuwan Kulasekara by playing a shot JUSt over the fielder at mid on to the boundary. The batsmen went for the same shot of the very next ball and lucky to survive after Thilana Kandamby dropped a sitter. The next ball saw a bid leg before shout turned down. The batsmen stole a single but Kulasekara went on to dismiss Ali Waqas off the fifth ball of the over. He nicks a ball that was moving away from him and it flew straight to Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps.
The shaky start for the Maroons was eased a bit when Asif Ali played a well-timed flick to the mid-wicket boundary.The batsmen then collected five singles in the third over.
Owing to the direction of the wind, skipper Thirimanne brought on Kulasekara from the other end and he struck to remove Asif. This wicket brought out Misbah-ul-Haq in a precarious situation…again! Got to feel for the skipper. He will take the challenge on though. That’s just him.
Lokuhettige came back from the other end and picked up a wicket off a slower delivery. The Wolves limped to 23 for three in five overs.
The Kandurata Maroons skipper Lahiru Thirimanne won the toss and elected to field first against the Faisalabad Wolves in the fifth qualifier match of the Champions League T20 2013.
The Maroons have made two changes to their side, bringing in Milinda Siriwardana and Lahiru Jayaratne. The Wolves are unchanged.
Teams:
Kandurata Maroons: Milinda Siriwardana, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Chamara Silva, Thilina Kandamby, Lahiru Jayaratne, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis
Faisalabad Wolves: Ali Waqas, Ammar Mahmood, Asif Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Khurram Shehzad, Imran Khalid, Mohammad Salman (wk), Ehsan Adil, Saeed Ajmal, Asad Ali, Samiullah Khan.
Hello and welcome to the final day of the qualifier stage of the Champions League T20 2013. The Kandurata Maroons take on the Faisalabad Wovles in a dead rubber as the other two sides — the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Otago Volts — have already qualified. However, only one team will return home without a single win. That should be motivational enough for the Maroons and Wolves to play hard in their final game of the tournament.
I, Prakash Govindasreenivasan, will be bringing you the momentary updates of this match.
