Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates, 3rd Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Gulf Giants won by 6 wkts
MIE
163/6(20)
GG
164/4(14.4)
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
That is all for tonight from the ILT20 league. Do join us for the clash between Desert Vipers and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders tomorrow. Cheers!!
Pathum Nissanka | Player of the Match: I had a good Asia Cup and I wanted to do well today. I was a bit slow in the powerplay and after that I realised that I should play my natural game. We were good today, the team bowled really well and batted well.
Moeen Ali | Gulf Giants skipper: Great performance. I thought the toss was huge and I think we restricted them nicely and Nissanka was so good to watch. They were 3 down in the powerplay, we wanted them to take risks, but they played smartly and I thought our execution was brilliant at the end. He (Nissanka) played some excellent shots and he really packs a punch. He (Omarzai) was outstanding and that over where he took on Rashid Khan was amazing and that is what we want from our players.
Kieron Pollard | MI Emirates captain: Toss is going to play a massive role going forward. That first 10 overs, the ball did quite a lot and it was challenging. We have to adapt to what is in front of us and we didn't quite finish off the way we wanted to. We are professionals and we don't want to give any excuses regarding the pitch or anything, but we could have done a better job with the bat and ball
21:53 local, 17:53 GMT, 23:23 IST: When Chris Woakes nipped out a couple of early wickets, MI Emirates believed they had a chance. Both Moeen Ali and Nissanka looked quite scratchy at the start, but found their rhythm with a couple of boundaries. Batting at five, Azmatullah Omarzai took on his countryman Rashid Khan, belting him for 23 in an over that included 3 sixes and a four. The carnage never quite stopped. Towards the end, they managed 58 runs off 16 balls at one point. The Giants did a wonderful job with the ball and their batters didn't let them down either. This win will also help their NRR massively. Although it's early stages of the tournament, little things like these matter a lot towards the fag end. Stick around for the post-match reactions...
14.5
AM Ghazanfar to Tom Moores, 5 wides, that should be the game! Fired full and well wide of off, Moores doesn't bother with it and it runs away past the keeper to his left. Gulf Giants kickstart their campaign with a comprehensive six-wicket win.
14.4
AM Ghazanfar to Azmatullah, 1 run, short outside off, Omarzai jumps on the back foot and punches to deep extra cover
14.3
AM Ghazanfar to Tom Moores, 1 run, quicker outside off, Moores gets off the mark with a cut to backward point
Tom Moores, left handed bat, comes to the crease
14.2
W
AM Ghazanfar to Nissanka, out Caught&Bowled!! That is a terrific catch from Ghazanfar off his own bowling. Carrom ball bowled full and wide of off, Nissanka attempts the slogsweep and gets a thick top-edge on that. Ghazanfar runs back, keeps his eyes on the ball and completes the catch with a dive. Made a difficult catch look easy there. Nissanka c and b AM Ghazanfar 81(42) [4s-6 6s-4]
AM Ghazanfar to Nissanka, THATS OUT!! Caught&Bowled!!
14.1
AM Ghazanfar to Nissanka, no run, full on the stumps, Nissanka mistimes the drive back to the bowler
AM Ghazanfar [2.0-0-11-0] is back into the attack
14
4 6 4 4 1 0 (19 runs)
GG 157-3
Azmatullah Omarzai
38(15)
Pathum Nissanka
81(40)
Chris Woakes
4-0-49-2
13.6
Woakes to Azmatullah, no run, slower back of a length delivery on the stumps, Omarzai looks to cut and misses
13.5
Woakes to Nissanka, 1 run, dug in short outside off, Nissanka looks to slam it down the ground and gets it off the thick inside half over mid-on
13.4
4
Woakes to Nissanka, FOUR, slower short ball outside off, Nissanka waits for it and plays the late ramp over short third to his right. No stopping these two at the moment...
13.3
4
Woakes to Nissanka, FOUR, 54 runs off the last 15 balls. Sat up on a length wide of off, Nissanka pulls and hits the gap between deep mid-wicket and deep square
13.2
6
Woakes to Nissanka, SIX, too full on leg stump, Nissanka plays the pick up flick and gets it sailing over fine leg for a huge maximum
13.1
4
Woakes to Nissanka, FOUR, the Giants are in a hurry! Nissanka dances down the crease, meets the length ball with a slapping blade and gets it over the man at mid-off
Chris Woakes [3.0-0-30-2] is back into the attack
