Zeecric Bureau
Panchkula, Nov 30: Chandigarh Lions roared loud in the first ICL tournament match against Delhi Jets in front of a jubilant home ground. They won the thriller match by 9 runs as the bowlers delivered emphatically in the crunch overs. Jets failed to capitalise on the initial good start and lost the plot after the departure of Marvan Atapattu and JP Yadav. Daryl Tuffey was the strike bowler for the Lions, claiming three wickets.
Delhi Jets upped the scoring to inch towards the death overs and reached 101 runs from 17 overs. They needed two runs per ball from this stage to win the match. SA Ali and JP Yadav occupied the crease and hit some big shots to keep hopes of a win alive.
Niall O’Brien was the fifth Jets casualty as Chandigarh Lions made their presence felt in the thrilling T20 tie that saw fortunes swinging either ways owing to some brilliant cricketing action by the two fiercely competitive teams. O’Brien was clean bowled by Uniyal as the Jets scorecard read 78 runs for the loss of five wickets from 15 overs.
Daryl Tuffey put his team on the right track after taking two wickets in two balls. His crucial over saw the departure of two key batsmen in Jets skipper Marvan Atapattu and DM Benkenstein. The Delhi Jets, who looked set for a win, were slightly on the back foot as their total read 64 runs from 12 overs for the loss of four wickets.
Chandigarh Lions put their inaugural tie against Delhi Jets in the T20 ICL championship on an equal footing by claiming three quick wickets.
Delhi Jets kicked off their ICL championship campaign with a solid performance in the bowling department as they wrapped up Chandigarh Lions for a score of 134 runs. Ali Murtaza and Abhishek Sharma were the best bowlers for their team as they took three wickets each at a very good economy rate of just four runs per over. Chandigarh Lions were not allowed to post a massive total owing to disciplined bowling by the Jets.
Delhi Jets were ecstatic as the bowlers continued with the carnage and got two quick wickets in the form of TP Singh and Reetinder Sodhi. The Lions were tottering at 96 runs for the loss of 6 wickets from 14 overs. Murtaza and Sharma proved to be great bowling assets as they both took two wickets at a very economical rate.
Ali Murtaza brought the prized scalp of Chris Cairns at the score of 22 runs just when he seemed all set to dismantle the bowling. He used only 14 balls to make the runs and was clean bowled by the feisty bowler off a great inswinger. The same over saw striker Chetan Sharma depart off his clever bowling. The Lions were 91 runs for the loss of 4 wickets from eleven overs.
Delhi Jets got rid of the dangerous opener Imran Farhat due to a brilliant piece of fielding by the team at a score of 21 runs off just 15 balls. The Lions had scored 65 runs for the loss of two wickets at the end of 8 overs as skipper Chris Cairs took charge of the big hitting for his team.
Hamish Marshall was the first casualty of the fiery bowling by JP Yadav and the star bowler claimed him in his first over of the tournament. Marshall scored 23 runs from 19 balls before being caught by Benkenstein. The scorecard for the home team read 41 runs for the loss of a wicket in 5 overs.
Prior to this, openers Imran Farhat and Hamish Marshall got Chandigarh Lions off to a flying start in the inaugural T20 match of the ICL.
Delhi Jets skipper Marvan Atapattu won the toss and elected to field first in the inaugural T20 match of the Indian Cricket League (ICL). He said that his team might benefit from the initial movement offered by the pitch, getting them some early breakthroughs. The Chandigarh Lions team skipper Chris Cairns on the other hand, said that the toss was not too bad to lose as he was uncertain of the pitch’s behaviour in the initial overs and his team was ready to take on any challenge offered by the Jets.
Apart from the Delhi and Chandigarh outfits, Mumbai Champs, led by Brian Lara, Kolkata Tigers, Chennai Superstars and Hyderabad Heroes would also be vying for a semi-final berth.
The Indian Cricket League (ICL) announced prize money totalling $37 million (Rs.150 million) for its inaugural Twenty20 championship, which will be evenly contested for by the star studded teams.
Delhi Jets Squad:
MD Mishra, Taufeeq Umar, MS Atapattu (Capt), NJ O`Brien, DM Benkenstein, Jai P Yadav, S Abbas Ali, Abid Nabi, A Murtaza, A Sharma, S Srivastava
Umpire: JH Evans (England)
Match referee: AL Wadekar
