T10 Cricket League, Abu Dhabi T10 Schedule
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The latest innovation in the game, the T10 league could not have asked for a better start to its inaugural season as Kerala Kings thrashed Bengal Tigers in a high-scoring encounter in Sharjah on Thursday (December 14). Irish opener Paul Stirling starred with the bat, slamming a quickfire 66 off 27 deliveries, helping the Kings to win the tournament-opener by eight wickets.

Kerala skipper Eoin Morgan‘s decision to bowl first did not turn out to be a good one as Bengal openers Andre Fletcher (32 no) and Johnson Charles (33) gave the Tigers a solid start. The West Indies duo added 56 runs off just 42 balls before Charles was sent back by Wahab Riaz. Coming in at number three, David Miller slammed a couple of fours and a six to help the Sarfraz Ahmed-led side post 86 runs in the allotted ten overs. Pakistan left-arm seamer was the pick of the bowler for the Kings, conceding only 11 off his two overs in addition to picking up the only wicket that fell.

In reply, the Kings went off to a disastrous start as Aamer Yamin dismissed Chadwick Chalton for a duck in the very first over, conceding only four. However, the game soon turned on its head when Stirling began firing on all cylinders right from the word go. The hard-hitting Irishman set the tone for the chase by hitting two fours in the second over bowled by Merchant de Lange and hit two more in the following over.  The Tigers, however, clawed their way back into the game when Afghanistan’s latest spin sensation Mujeeb Zadran dismissed the dangerous Morgan in the fourth over. England’s limited-overs skipper scored 11 off 9.

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But Tigers’ hopes of further strengthening their grip on the game was soon ended as Stirling continued batting aggressively. The fifth and sixth over yielded 19 runs before Stirling slammed de Langa for three consecutive sixes in the seventh over to all but seal the game for his side. Two more fours in the eighth over from the Ireland star then completed the proceedings in Sharjah. He remained unbeaten on 66 off just 27 balls while Kieron Pollard scored 11 not out.

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