Quetta Qavalry are heading straight to Qualifier 1, and they did it in the most dramatic way possible. A nail-biting clash against Vista Riders on Wednesday went all the way to a Super Over, where Liam Livingstone smashed a towering six to seal the win and keep Quetta on top of the Abu Dhabi T10 table.
But the real spark came earlier from Muhammad Waseem, who played a stunning hand with 41 not out off just 14 balls. His late fireworks pushed Quetta to a competitive 104/5, giving his side something to defend after Andries Gous (23 off 16) and Evin Lewis chipped in with useful starts.
Vista Riders looked well in control during their chase, thanks largely to Ben McDermott’s fluent 44 off 27, supported by Unmukt Chand and Sean Dickson, who added steady runs before retiring hurt. But the match flipped dramatically when Livingstone produced a sensational diving boundary catch to remove McDermott, followed soon after by the dismissal of Dwaine Pretorius.
Still, Vista refused to go quietly. Needing 16 off the final over, Matthew Forde and CP Rizwan combined for a flurry of late boundaries to tie the game and push it into the tournament’s first Super Over.
Vista set a target of 12, and Quetta’s chase began with a Waseem boundary before Khwaja Nafay fell swinging for the ropes. Enter Livingstone, who wasted no time, launching a massive six over square leg to seal the win and ignite celebrations among the Qavalry fans.
Royal Champs fall short despite McMullen’s 50
In the second match of the night, Royal Champs put up a steady chase but ultimately couldn’t get past a target of 135, finishing at 127/2.
Jason Roy departed early, but Mohammad Shahzad (39 off 22) provided momentum before retiring hurt. Brandon McMullen kept the chase alive with a superb 59 off 28, hammering four fours and four sixes.
But with the required rate climbing, the Champs ran out of firepower. Aaron Jones and Chris Jordan added late runs, but it wasn’t enough as they closed the innings seven runs short.
