6:54 PM IST and 5:24 PM Local Time: What a relentless and dominating display of cricket from Northern Warriors as they pummel a strong-looking UAE Bulls by 35 runs, climbing to the third spot on the points with 6 points from as many matches!!!
Earlier in the game, UAE Bulls won the toss and put the Warriors to bat first. Colin Munro, returning to the side, made batting look so easy and carried his bat through with a fabulous 77 off 35 balls, smashing seven 4s and six 6s. The New Zealander added 78 for the first wicket with Johnson Charles and then stitched 60 for the second wicket with Shimron Hetmyer as the two West Indians got to the 20s at some pace.
Northern Warriors posted a massive 138/1 in 10 overs. Apart from Ubaid Shah, no other Warriors' bowlers looked like having a tooth. Even the great Sunil Narine wasn't spared.
Chasing 139 was always going to be an uphill task. Opener Tom Moores' run-a-ball 12 didn't help their cause either. Phil Salt, Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard, Tim David and Romario Shepherd had plenty of power in them, but once the Bulls were behind the eight-ball in this big run chase, they too felt the heat and fell in the process. Apart from David and Shepherd, no power hitters looked like they were putting in an effort. David hit a 13-ball 30, while Shepherd smashed 24 off 12.
UAE Bulls were eventually restricted to 103/7 in 10 overs, courtesy of special spells from Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahnawaz Dahani & Trent Boult. Omarzai and Dahani picked up a couple of scalps, while Boult held his nerves to deliver a couple of economical overs. Shahid Bhutta also grabbed a couple of wickets, but went for a few runs. Not to forget, Perera's catch to dismiss the dangerous Shepherd.
Stay tuned for the post-match presentations...