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So that was a convincing victory for the Msida Warriors. Do not forget to switch tabs for the next game which will commence in about 25 minutes' time. Till then, this is Arya Sekhar Chakraborty signing off on behalf of my fellow commentator Mohul Bhowmick.
Mater Dei 78/4 in 10 overs Azeem Sathi 30(18) | Joy Mathai 1/3(1)
The target of 108 was never going to be easy for the Mater Dei and in the end, the Msida Warriors held their nerves and produced a magnificent bowling display, and won the match by 27 runs.
Azeem Sathi and Zubbair Muhammad opened the innings but it was only Azeem who played the shots in the powerplay and found the gaps. Shijil Joy and Sujith Sukumaran took two quick wickets to put Mater Dei on the backfoot but Sathi batted magnificently, scoring 30 off 18 deliveries before his departure. Till he was there, Mater Dei was well in the run-chase but it kept going downhill following his wicket.
The run chase literally fizzled out towards the final stages of the innings and they eventually fell well short by 29 runs. They could only muster 27 runs in the last five overs which proved to be the difference between the two sides. They were in with a chance till the halfway mark but could never really conjure the power-hitting traits to get over the line. Sathi was the top scorer with 30 while four bowlers took a wicket each.
Earlier it was the Mater Dei who won the toss and put Msida Warriors in. The powerplay belonged totally to the bowling team, as they took a couple of very important wickets and kept the Warriors to 15 in the first 3 overs. They were going nowhere to be honest until Rocky Dianish turned it on for the Warriors, scoring a blazing half-century and eventually ensuring that the Warriors reached a competitive score of 107 in their allotted 10 overs.
Venkat Rao castled Rajkumar Pothula in the very first over after Shijil Joy departed first ball after a horrible mix-up between the two openers. Wickets kept falling at the other end but Rocky Dianish looked in superb touch and kept thrashing the Mater Dei bowlers all around the park.
He didn’t spare any of the bowlers and from a position of relative discomfort, Dianish made sure that the bowlers had a competitive total to bowl at. Dianish remained unbeaten on 73 off 32 deliveries, an innings which was studded with 9 fours and 3 sixes. For Mater Dei, it was Venkat Rao who was the only wicket taker with a couple of scalps to his name.
10
overs
78/4score
1
1
W
1
0
4
runs
Michael Nazir*
26(20)
Amandeep Ralhan
1(1)
Sebin Joseph
1/20
9.6 Sebin Joseph to Michael Nazir, FOUR! At a length on off and middle. Nazir pulls it away and sends it over square leg for a boundary! That was a well timed shot by Nazir. However, Msida Warriors have beaten them by 29 runs!
9.5 Sebin Joseph to Michael Nazir, at a length outside off, moves away. Nazir cuts at it and misses!
9.4 Sebin Joseph to Amandeep Ralhan, short and wide outside off. Ralhan cuts it to deep cover for a single.
Amandeep Ralhan, RHB comes out to the crease.
9.3 Sebin Joseph to Vengala Sandeep, OUT! At a length outside off, moves away. Sandeep slashes at it and gets a big outside edge that goes straight to the hands of the fielder at third man. A simple catch taken!
Vengala Sandeep c Joy Mathai b Sebin Joseph 8 (12b 4x0 6x0)
9.2 Sebin Joseph to Michael Nazir, short of a length on off and middle. Nazir works it towards deep square leg for a single.
The boundaries have dried up for Mater Dei and it's going nowhere at the moment. The run chase has just fizzled away after the loss of Sathi.
Video
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M Kumaran
S Sukumaran
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Michael Nazir
*
Sebin Joseph
Marsa Sports Club, Malta
