Abu Dhabi T10: Morrisville Samp Army extend winning streak; Delhi Bulls collect crucial points

Abu Dhabi:  Morrisville Samp Army continued their emphatic run in the ongoing 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament as they bagged a 3-run win over Team Abu Dhabi at Zayed Cricket Stadium here on Friday. The Samp Army have not lost a single game in the competition so far and extended their winning streak to take the top spot with another victory. Morrisville Samp Army started in a decent manner as the openers Sharjeel Khan, who hails from Pakistan, and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis stitched a partnership of 40 runs for the first wicket. But Sharjeel’s departure for 28 off 10 was followed by wickets falling at regular intervals and the side was bowled out for 109 in 9.4 overs. Andries Gous chipped in with 27 off 8 deliveries. England medium-pacer Jordan Clark was the pick of the bowlers for Team Abu Dhabi after he returned with impressive figures of 4-6 in 1.4 overs. Apart from him Adam Milne and Noor Ahmed scalped a couple of wickets apiece. In reply, Team Abu Dhabi was reduced to 13/3 in the chase but aggressive England batter Jonny Bairstow stood strong at one end and smashed an unbeaten 70 off 30 that included 6 sixes and five fours. Despite the right-hander’s efforts, Team Abu Dhabi managed to get to 106/4 in 10 overs and lost the match in a close encounter. While Samp Army have already qualified for the knockouts with 12 points from six matches under their belt, Team Abu Dhabi have three wins and 6 points in the kitty from 6 games. They will next play Northern Warriors in their last round-robin match and will look to win the match by a big margin. Delhi Bulls pick crucial points Delhi Bulls took away crucial points with a win against New York Strikers by five wickets. Batting first, Strikers were restricted to 83/9 in 10 overs after Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi and England’s Sam Cook rattled the batting lineup. Both the bowlers scalped three wickets each while Pakistan spinner Shadab Khan bagged a two-fer. The Delhi team then started off the chase brilliantly and posted 44 runs within the first four overs before James Vince who hails from England departed for 30 off 15. Delhi Bulls lost a few more wickets but went over the line in 9 overs. –IANS