Sports
US Masters T10 play-off teams spotted
New York Warriors finished top of the points table in the US Masters T10 after defeating Morrisville Unity by 33 runs in the last league match at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida, on Friday. Both teams were assured of the play-offs going into the game, but the big result decided the order of the top four teams.
California Knights, Texas Chargers and Morrisville Unity finished in second, third and fourth spots respectively to qualify for the play-offs. New York will take on California in Qualifier 1, while Texas will be up against Morrisville in the Eliminator on Saturday.
The Warriors posted 139/6 in their 10 overs before restricting the Morrisville Unity to 106/3. Shehan Jayasuriya and Parthiv Patel got Morrisville off to a decent start through 32 runs in 3 overs. However, Patel fell to Jerome Taylor for 14 runs off 11 balls in the fourth over. Thereafter, Jayasuriya and Obus Pienaar put up a 52-run stand for the second wicket, but they were always behind the required run rate. Umaid Asif sealed the deal for the Warriors after conceding just seven runs in the ninth over.
Tillakaratne Dilshan, left, and Misbah-ul-Haq of New York Warriors against Morrisville Unity. Saikat Das / USM T10
New York Warriors had won the toss and elected to bat first. Kamran Akmal smashed Najaf Shah for two sixes in the first over and took the Warriors to 16/0. Akmal struck a six and a four in the next over, but he fell to Sreesanth for 23 runs off 8 balls. Richard Levi was run out for a duck soon after and the Warriors were in a spot of bother at 33/2.
However, Misbah-ul-Haq (38, 14 balls) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (37, 19b) strung a 74-run partnership to take New York to 107/3 in 6.3 overs. After both fell to Navin Stewart in the seventh over, Shahid Afridi played a fantastic cameo of 22 runs from 11 balls to help the Warriors put up massive 139/6 in their 10 overs.
Ben Dunk of Texas Chargers scored 53 from 22 balls to set up a win against Atlanta Riders. Saikat Das / USM T10
California Knights had earlier confirmed a top-two finish after defeating New Jersey Triton’s by 24 runs in a rain-affected match at the same venue. The Knights posted 76/1 in their rescheduled five overs before restricting the opposition to 52/3. The result meant the Triton’s have been eliminated from the competition.
In the second game, early leaders Texas Chargers beat Atlanta Riders by 22 runs for a crucial win, having slid from top to fourth owing to results in other matches.
Chargers were the dominant unit on the day, thanks to a half-century from captain Ben Dunk, as they swatted away the Riders’ challenge with relative ease.
Dunk got 53 from 22 balls, setting up the platform for a good finish in the final few overs. Darren Stevens and Phil Mustard added a few big blows after that, taking the Chargers to 124/5 from their quota of 10 overs. In reply, Atlanta kept losing batsmen at regular intervals and fell short ultimately.
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