MI Emirates‘ batters Tom Banton and Andre Fletcher took apart the Desert Vipers‘ bowling attack to set up a big win for their team, which was completed in an emphatic fashion by their bowlers in the ILT20 match in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
A 55-ball 105 by Banton and 96 off 50 balls by opener Fletcher deflated the Vipers’ bowling attack, with only Mohammed Amir (1/36) among the seven bowlers used able to take a wicket when he dismissed opener Muhammad Waseem for 19.
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But after that, Banton and Fletcher added 198 runs for the second wicket in 16.5 overs to take the total to a huge 228 for 2. The demolition job by the two batters saw Banton hitting 9 fours and 7 sixes, while Fletcher smashed 10 fours and 3 sixes.
The partnership was broken off the penultimate ball of their innings by way of Banton’s run-out.
The Vipers’ chase never took off as they lost half the side for just 32 runs inside the Powerplay.
Captain Sam Curran (11) and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan (12) were the only two batters to score in double digits, while pacers Muhammad Rohid (3 for 24) and Alzarri Joseph (3 for 17) ran through the Vipers’ batting lineup with three wickets each.
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Dan Mousley also bowled commendably, finishing with figures of 2 for 10 and 2 for 8, respectively.