END OF OVER:20 | 3 Runs 4 Wkts | BR: 148/10 | RR: 7.40
- Ramon Simmonds0 (0b)
- Romario Shepherd4-0-35-3
- Dwaine Pretorius4-0-32-1
Warriors will be pleased with their bowling effort; the spinners spun a web, and the pacers - even without Shamar - did a fantastic job by picking wickets at regular intervals. Athanaze got a start, Miller found his rhythm, and earlier Cornwall was timing the ball sweetly. However, no one could convert their starts into a big score, which denied them the chance to post a competitive total. It's not that this score is below par, but it's not a safe total either. For me, Moeen Ali was the pick of the bowlers; Motie also did terrific work, and the pacers effectively utilized slower balls and cutters. GAW look razor-sharp, focused, and ready to defend their title, having not put a foot wrong so far. Can Royals stop them in their quest for another title? We'll find out shortly. Stay tuned!
19.6
W
Shepherd to Theekshana, OUT, Bouncer, hops over the batter, charges to tonk it into the leg-side, hustling and bustling down the track to sneak one, no full-length dive at the non-striker's end and Theekshana is short of his crease, two back-to-back run outs
M Theekshana run out 5 (11m 5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
19.5
W
Shepherd to McCoy, OUT, Chaotic finish, terrible botch-up, nothing really working at the death for Royals. Pacy short ball on middle and off, tries to whack a pull and only flails at thin air, hurtles down the track to sneak one but Hope pings a calm throw to Shepherd who disturbs the wickets at non-striker's end. Stun faces in BR's dug-out, coach is not happy
OC McCoy run out 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
19.4
W
Shepherd to Naveen-ul-Haq, OUT, Touch short with some width, tempts him to go big downtown, lofted straight down the ground and didn't made a sweet sound, hit the outer half and send it high into the night sky but once again not clearing the ropes, pouched by Sinclair. Wickets continue to tumble and scoring has been onerous, taken at long-on
Naveen-ul-Haq c Sinclair b Shepherd 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
19.4
1w
Shepherd to Naveen-ul-Haq, 1 wide, Drags his length back and keeps it outside off, too wide and away from the tramline, got to reload
19.3
W
Shepherd to Holder, OUT, Banged in short on middle, tried to tug that out of the park and gets a fat top-edge that balloons up, Shai Hope charges in gobbles it up gleefully towards short point, BR in complete disarray, lacking the fiery finish.
JO Holder c †Hope b Shepherd 19 (42m 19b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
19.2
0
Shepherd to Holder, no run, Shortens his length, angling across off, sliced away to long-off not where he intended to play
19.1
2
Shepherd to Holder, 2 runs, Over the wicket, short and outside off, dragged across the line to deep midwicket, haring back for the second, shy at the stumps, the duo run well
END OF OVER:19 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | BR: 145/6 | RR: 7.63
- Maheesh Theekshana5 (4b)
- Jason Holder17 (16b)
- Dwaine Pretorius4-0-32-1
- Romario Shepherd3-0-32-1
18.6
0
Pretorius to Theekshana, no run, Theekshana is not amused at all with the call, he reckons it should have been adjudged a wide on height. I think he has a strong case, it was sailing over his head; was pitched halfway down and kept rising like a volcano
18.5
4
Pretorius to Theekshana, FOUR, Jockeys across off, crouches and plays a marvelous slog sweep past deep square for a four; leaning his weight into the impact and nobody can cut it off
18.4
1
Pretorius to Holder, 1 run, Only a single. Dug into the pitch and offers plenty of width, sashayed across and crunched past the infield, man at deep extra cover makes a well-timed intervention
18.3
1
Pretorius to Theekshana, 1 run, Gets off the mark, short and wide, glides it down to backward point for a run, actually towards his right
18.2
0
Pretorius to Theekshana, no run, Pace-off length ball floating outside off, leans out and creams it down to cover
Hajji49: "Factoring in the pitch alone, 160 seems a good score. Problem is, given GAW batting, probably need at least 180 for a close contest ..."
18.1
W
Pretorius to Miller, OUT, Pretorius to bowl the penultimate over. Long gaps between the overs, don't know why
On a length at sixth stump and slackens the pace, lures him with the bait and gives room, Miller had to go but the bat turned and he lost his shape while trying to pump it over wide long-off, Hetmyer has safe pair of hands and he takes a gem, safe outfielder. It's a big wicket which will dent BR hopes, he needed a flurry of boundaries here to give them a respectable total. Just sliced it in the air, credit to the bowler for getting his off-cutter right, not giving the pace Miller was looking for
On a length at sixth stump and slackens the pace, lures him with the bait and gives room, Miller had to go but the bat turned and he lost his shape while trying to pump it over wide long-off, Hetmyer has safe pair of hands and he takes a gem, safe outfielder. It's a big wicket which will dent BR hopes, he needed a flurry of boundaries here to give them a respectable total. Just sliced it in the air, credit to the bowler for getting his off-cutter right, not giving the pace Miller was looking for
DA Miller c Hetmyer b Pretorius 36 (43m 26b 2x4 2x6) SR: 138.46
END OF OVER:18 | 10 Runs | BR: 139/5 | RR: 7.72
- David Miller36 (25b)
- Jason Holder16 (15b)
- Romario Shepherd3-0-32-1
- Dwaine Pretorius3-0-26-0
17.6
1
Shepherd to Miller, 1 run, Lands it on a shorter length and wide of off, rolling his fingers on it, stays deep and forces it to extra cover for a single, most importantly he will keep the strike. 12 balls remaining, how many more can they add to the total?
17.5
1
Shepherd to Holder, 1 run, Tennis ball rising delivery on off, swivels, clears front leg and plays it uppishly into the empty spaces at midwicket, need boundaries
17.4
1
Shepherd to Miller, 1 run, Pulls his length back again and keeps it close to the marker on off, crunched to cover and the single brings up 50 partnership, time to press on the gas paddle, Holder got to join the party as well
17.3
2
Shepherd to Miller, 2 runs, Short, wide and gets away with it, whacked with gusto to sweeper cover who almost leaked a boundary, picks it up after a few fumbles and keeps them down to a couple, easy couple
17.2
4
Shepherd to Miller, FOUR, Around the wicket, dug in short on middle, fantastic swivel-pull to deep backward square boundary, did he really have to change the angle? It was not over-hit just placed it in the gap while clearing the front foot
17.1
1
Shepherd to Holder, 1 run, Over the wicket, tad short around the line off, steps forward and turns it to midwicket, keen on taking a second, wasn't available
END OF OVER:17 | 14 Runs | BR: 129/5 | RR: 7.58
- David Miller28 (21b)
- Jason Holder14 (13b)
- Dwaine Pretorius3-0-26-0
- Moeen Ali4-0-24-2
16.6
2
Pretorius to Miller, 2 runs, Flips it on a shorter length and doesn't offer much room, hammered away to sweeper cover for a couple, fabulous running between wickets again
16.5
1
Pretorius to Holder, 1 run, Stands tall and cracks a pull into the acreage at deep midwicket's left; was a short delivery and he had time to get on top of it
16.4
4
Pretorius to Holder, FOUR, Deft touch, guides it with finesse to third man boundary, smartly done, using the pace and angle to manufacture a useful boundary
16.3
1
Pretorius to Miller, 1 run, Nearly landed outside the rope at deep square; shortish and holds up in the surface, pulled away in the air and fielder catches it, loses his balance, tosses the ball in the air and tries his level best to save a boundary, that's an outstanding effort in the deep,
16.2
4
Pretorius to Miller, FOUR, Flings it on a shorter length around the line off, makes room and thwacks a splendid square cut past point for a four; high quality stroke, don't think Pretorius did anything wrong here
