Chennai Braves’ batting line-up cracked before Team Abu Dhabi’s pacer Naveen-ul-Haq’s lethal bowling to be restricted to a paltry 71 for 6 in 10 overs.
Team Abu Dhabi then raced to an emphatic seven-wicket victory with eight balls to spare in the first match of the eighth day at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Naveen-ul-Haq bagged three wickets in his first over itself and returned with figures of 3 for 7. The Chennai Braves failed to recover from the blow as Andrew Tye too chipped in with 2 for 14.
Though Team Abu Dhabi too lost three wickets for one run during the chase, skipper Chris Lynn hit an unbeaten 39 backed by Fabian Allen’s 33* to ensure their team’s victory.
Chennai Braves won the toss and elected to bat only to find them get off to a disastrous start.
With the first ball of the match, Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Chennai opener Dan Lawrence before getting the wicket of Sikandar Raza off the following ball. Dawid Malan too departed off the final ball of the first over as TAB were off to a fantastic start.
With three wickets down for just one run, Peter Hatzoglou bowled a tight over giving only a boundary off the last ball. Brathwaite then went on with his six-hitting practice, hitting Adil Rashid over the square leg fence.
The fourth over from Hatzoglou was another brilliant one giving away just two runs.
Andrew Tye, who was introduced for the fifth over, was hit by Brathwaite for his second six to long-on. However, the West Indian was dismissed the very next ball.
At the halfway mark, Chennai were struggling at 28 for 4.
Ross Whiteley joined Aravind and hit Fabian Allen’s first delivery for a boundary and last delivery for a six.
Adil Rashid who bowled the seventh over had Whiteley out with the fourth ball for 14. James Fuller lifted Allen for a straight six and the last ball to wide long-on for another maximum. That added some respect to the total which read 60 for 5 by the end of the eighth over.
In the ninth over, Tye had Fuller caught by Hales at sweeper cover for 16. The pacer gave away just four runs in that over.
Naveen was re-introduced for the last over. Aravind hit the first delivery over the short third man for a boundary. The rest of the deliveries were cleverly bowled by Naveen, preventing batsmen from playing any big short. Aravind remained unbeaten on 21 and The Chennai Braves got restricted to 71 for 6 in 10 overs.
Chasing an ordinary total, Team Abu Dhabi were off to a similar start as their opponents, losing two wickets in the opening over. Opener Alex Hales and James Vince both departed for a duck. Dooley gave away just one run in the first over.
In the second over, Brandon King got out hitting Sam Cook’s first delivery to Brathwaite at mid-off for 1. Fabian Allen joined his skipper Chris Lynn with three wickets down for just one run. Lynn hit the first boundary of the innings to long on off Cook’s fourth delivery. Dooley who bowled the third over gave away just three runs.
Lynn hit Fuller for a six to mid-wicket off the second delivery of the fourth over, but then that was the only big shot that came off it.
Allen too hit Raza for a six to the square leg fence. Thereafter, Lynn hit the third delivery for another six. Those big hits eased a bit of the pressure on Team Abu Dhabi. With 36 runs needed off the last 30 balls, the pair put on an unbeaten 72-run partnership to win the match.
Brief scores:
The Chennai Braves 71/6 in 10 overs (Vriitya Aravind 21*, Naveen-ul-Haq 3/7) lost to Team Abu Dhabi 75/3 in 8.4 overs (Chris Lynn 39*, Patrick Dooley 2/4) by seven wickets
Player of the Match: Chris Lynn
