END OF OVER:20 | 11 Runs | WSF: 144/7 | RR: 7.20
- Akeal Hosein33 (22b)
- Dane Piedt3 (4b)
- Wayne Parnell4-0-40-2
- Andrew Tye4-0-26-1
9:23pm So, Washington end up with 144, largely thanks to Hosein's cameo at the end. That, though, was a rare bright spot in an innings that failed to sparkle. They lost Short in the opening over, with Mukhtar following suit in the third. Phillips, walking in at 4, tried to inject some momentum. He found the fence on a few occasions but perished attempting to optimise the powerplay. There was another phase where Henriques and Gous looked set to lay a solid foundation. But once both departed off successive deliveries, Washington had their backs against the wall.
As much as Washington will be disappointed with their batting effort, the Orcas will be pleased with how their bowlers fared. On a strip that is slowing down, their spinners barely gave anything away, combining for three wickets and giving away only 43 runs in eight overs. The pacers chipped in too, and they have now restricted Washington to a total they will be confident of chasing down.
That said, Washington do have an Anrich Nortje-named trump card. Can he make enough of an impact to swing this his team's way? Join us in a few minutes to find out!
Harmeet Singh: (On his performance) I think the way things started, the wicket looked flat. Once the slow bowlers came in, I think we controlled the game. It was important to keep the runs down and pick wickets and that helped us keep them down. (On the atmosphere) This is what we came for. This is what you live for, to play with the crowd, under pressure and with the lights on. This is as good as it gets. (On how they need to approach the chase) I think wickets in hand will be crucial and a good start in the powerplay will help. The pitch is holding up just a little but no complains otherwise (from the surface).