Today, cricketing history was created with the launch of the inaugural T10 Cricket League – the first time ever cricket was being played in the 10-over format. Some ridiculed this format, saying that T20 cricket just got a haircut. To be honest, I am not a fan of this new development in the sport of cricket, but I must admit, it was quite entertaining.
What the future of T10 cricket is? I can’t say. We heard Eoin Morgan mention that this format could be cricket’s entry into the Olympics. However, let’s not worry for now, and just enjoy the league!
A short league was planned a couple of months back, with a variety of international players distributed across 6 teams, that were divided into Group A and Group B. The first game was played at the Sharjah International Stadium, after a very colourful opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony saw a beautiful performance by Bollywood star Urvashi Rautela, and we also saw stars like Suniel Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan, Rimi Sen, Bipasha Basu, Mohammad Azharuddin and the Great Khali cheering on the sidelines.
The league will display a wide range of ages, with the youngest in the competition being Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Zadran (16 years), and the oldest being Pakistan’s Misbah ul Haq (43 years). History was also made with a full country being a part of a league for the first time – Team Sri Lanka.
Groups
- Group A – Maratha Arabians, Pakhtoons, Team Sri Lanka.
- Group B – Bengal Tigers, Kerala Kings, Punjab Legends.
Captains
- Bengal Tigers – Sarfraz Ahmed
- Kerala Kings – Eoin Morgan
- Pakhtoons – Shahid Afridi
- Maratha Arabians – Virender Sehwag
- Team Sri Lanka – Dinesh Chandimal
- Punjab Legends – Shoaib Malik
Kerala Kings vs Bengal Tigers
The first game of the tournament kicked off at the Sharjah International Stadium, with Morgan’s Kerala Kings winning the toss and electing to field first. Two West Indians in Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher walked out to bat, and while they didn’t lose a wicket for a while, they weren’t as explosive as one would expect in a T10 contest.
The first wicket finally went on the first ball of the 8th over, with the score at 56/1 – Wahab Riaz had Johnson Charles caught behind, and David Miller walked out, with just 17 balls left in the innings. How are batsmen expected to just walk out and hit the ball for boundaries from Ball 1?
Ultimately, Charles finished as the Bengal top scorer, with 33(27), and Bengal Tigers finished with 86/1 – not nearly good a score, as we would’ve expected atleast 100 as a par score. Wahab ended with 1/11; marvellous figures for a T10 game.
I expected a simple chase by Kerala Kings, but nothing is easy in cricket. Another West Indian walked out to bat in Chadwick Walton, and alongside him was the Irishman Paul Stirling. However, it was a brilliant start for BT, with Aamer Yamin picking up Walton for a duck ?. Morgan then walked out and was dropped first ball by Sammy at gully.
No one likes to give away chances, especially not to talented batsmen like Eoin Morgan. However, it wasn’t Morgan who took them over the line, but the exciting Paul Stirling from Ireland. Mujeeb Zadran picked up Morgan for 11 but Stirling kept going his merry way.
MOM – Paul Stirling for his 66(27)*
