ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – A Shimron Hetmyer cameo made all the difference as Samp Army beat Evin Lewis’s Bangla Tigers by 15 runs on the second day of the Abu Dhabi T10 here Thursday.
The left-hander top-scored with 38 from 23 balls, an innings which pulled his side out of trouble at 41 for four at the start of the sixth and helped power them to 100 for five off their 10 overs.
Hetmyer’s West Indies teammate Johnson Charles (7) was among the early casualties but Hetmyer launched a counterattack with two fours and three sixes, in a 45-run, fifth wicket partnership with Karim Janat (22 not out) to revive the innings.
The left-handed Lewis then helped lead the early charge in Tigers’ run chase, striking a four and a six in a nine-ball 14, as he put on 39 for the first wicket with Afghan Hazratullah Zazai who top-scored with 35 from 26 balls.
However, Lewis edged a catch to wicketkeeper Charles off South African quick Dwaine Pretorius who put the brakes on the scoring with a spell of three for 11.
In the day’s second game, the West Indies pair of Sherfane Rutherford (26) and Rovman Powell (25) produced valuable contributions but they proved in vain as Northern Warriors went down by four runs to Delhi Bulls.
Chasing 120, Warriors slumped to 11 for two before Powell punched a four and a couple of sixes in a 53-run, third wicket stand with top-scorer Usman Khan who belted 47 from 26 balls with five fours and two sixes.
When Powell skied to the ’keeper in the sixth over, Rutherford arrived to add a further 50 with Usman, while lashing three fours and a six in a 12-ball cameo.
Meanwhile, West Indies white-ball left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein captured two for six from two overs to help strangle Chennai Braves and earn Kieron Pollard’s New York Strikers a 27-run victory.
Former West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite struck an unbeaten 22 from 14 balls but it fell short of what was required.
Earlier, Strikers gathered 99 for six from their 10 overs with Ireland’s Paul Stirling top-scoring with 32 from 15 balls. Pollard failed with one while Romario Shepherd struck a four and two sixes in a seven-ball 19.
