Qatar T10 League 2019: Desert Riders suffer first loss, Swift Gallopers move to second

Desert Riders, on Wednesday, suffered their first loss in Qatar T10 League but still managed to remain on the top of the points table. Falcon Hunters thrashed the Riders by six wickets in the eighth match of the competition to brighten up their chances of making it to the last four. Riders, on the other hand, also remain on course for a spot in the final four.

The Riders will take on Heat Stormers in their final league game and a win will be more than enough for them to enter the last four. Even if the Riders lose the game, they can make it to the last four. Stormers, on the other hand, are still at the bottom of the points table with just a point from three games and are all but out of the semi-final race.

Talking about the game between Riders and Hunters, the former scored 89 for 2 in their stipulated 20 overs. After being asked to bat first, the Riders were off to a poor start as their skipper Mohammad Hafeez departed after scoring run-a-ball 11. Adnan Mirza failed with the bat too and managed to score just 6 off 12 balls.

But Muhammad Tanveer and Ramith Rambukwella made sure that their side gets something decent to defend. The two could not take the Hunters bowlers to the cleaners but still managed to propel their team to a decent total by sharing an unbeaten stand of 48 runs. Tanveer remained unbeaten on 33 off 22 balls while Rambukwella scored 22 from 16 balls.

In reply, Hunters chased down the total in just 8.1 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizlan starred with the bat, slamming 35 from just 17 to help his side recover from a shaky start to chase down the total with ease in the end. Veteran Hashim Amla managed just 9 while Salman Butt scored 15-ball 16. But before the Riders could make further inroads, Rizlan blew them away with some stunning power hitting.

Swift Gallopers beat Heat Stormers

In another game on Wednesday, Swift Gallopers beat Heat Stormers by 66 runs to move to the second spot in the points table. In one of the most lopsided contests of the on-going tournament, Gallopers just turned out to be too good for the Stormers. The loss has all but ended Stormers’ hopes of making it to the last four.

Asked to bat first, Gallopers rode on Imran Ali’s unbeaten knock of 53 from just 17 balls to post a mammoth 153 for 7 in ten overs. Openers Kamran Akmal and Zaheer Ibrahim gave the Gallopers a solid start by adding 40 runs before Imran took charge. In reply, Stormers finished on 87 for 7 with former India international Manpreet Gony’s 31 being the highest score.

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