Abu Dhabi T10: Zazai’s half century helps Bangla Tigers to climb to the third spot in the points table

Just
like
in
the
match
against
The
Chennai
Braves,
Will
Jacks
and
Hazratullah
Zazai
made
good
of
a
strong
foundation
provided
by
Johnson
Charles’ big
hitting
at
the
top
of
the
order.
Courtesy
of
Zazai’s
unbeaten
26-ball-59,
the
Tigers
took
only
8.1
overs
to
overhaul
the
target
of
112.

Their
third
win
took
them
to
the
third
spot
on
the
points
table,
where
they
find
themselves
sandwiched
between
Deccan
Gladiators
and
Delhi
Bulls,
both
teams
with
three
wins
in
their
bag.

Following
their
19-ball
67-run
partnership
in
the
previous
match,
Charles
and
Zazai
gave
another
blistering
start
to
Bangla
Tigers’
innings.
By
the
time
Charles
fell
to
Odean
Smith
on
the
final
ball
of
the
second
over,
the
team
had
put
on
34
runs
on
the
board.
His
dismissal
didn’t
do
much
to
stem
the
flow
of
runs
as
his
replacement
at
the
crease,
Will
Jacks,
displayed
the
full
repertoire
of
his
shots
to
ensure
the
required
run
rate
never
became
threatening.

Captain
Wahab
Riaz
threw
the
ball
to
Wanindu
Hasaranga
for
his
second
over
when
the
Tigers
decided
to
go
for
their
batting
powerplay.
However,
Zazai
nullified
the
Hasaranga
threat
by
hitting
the
leg-spinner
for
three
big
hits
on
the
leg
side,
taking
his
team
closer
to
the
target.
His
second
six
of
the
over
brought
the
50
run
partnership
between
him
and
Jacks.
The
left-hander
reached
his
own
half-century
in
style
in
the
next
over
when
he
slogged
Sultan
Ahmed
for
another
six
in
the
eighth
over.
Fittingly,
the
winning
runs
also
came
off
his
bat
when
he
deposited
a
Tom
Banton
full
toss
for
four
over
long-on.

Earlier,
the
Deccan
Gladiators
openers
started
with
a
flurry
of
boundaries
but
Mohd.
Aamir,
playing
his
first
match
of
the
tournament,
pegged
the
innings
back
by
dismissing
Tom-Kohler
Cadmore.
In
the
subsequent
overs,
James
Faulkner
and
Karim
Jamat
also
picked
a
wicket
apiece
on
either
side
of
a
hat-trick
of
sixes.
With
Andre
Russell
and
Tom
Banton
at
the
crease,
the
Gladiators
opted
for
the
powerplay
at
the
end
of
the
fourth
over.
However,
they
could
only
go
one
over
without
losing
a
wicket
as
Benny
Howell
sent
back
the
danger
man
Russell
with
a
slower
ball.

David
Wiese
started
dealing
in
sixes
right
from
his
arrival
at
the
crease
and
remained
unfazed
by
Banton’s
dismissal
in
the
seventh
over.
He
found
the
perfect
ally
in
Odean
Smith
whose
eight-ball
26
took
Deccan
Gladiators
past
the
100-run
mark.
The
last
two
overs
of
the
Gladiators
innings
yielded
33
runs
and
helped
them
post
a
challenging
112
on
the
board.

Brief
scores
:
Bangla
Tigers
118/1
(Hazratullah
Zazai
59*,
Will
Jacks
28*
Odean
Smith
1-21)beat
Deccan
Gladiators
112/5
(Odean
Smith
26*,
David
Wiese
25*
2-16)

Source:
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