DELHI, India, CMC – Moises Henriques guided New South Wales Blues into the second round with a fine all-round performance that powered them to a 35-run victory over Sussex in their Champions League Twenty20 Group B match yesterday.
Electing to bat, Australia’s NSW Blues scored 130 for two off their 20 overs and then restricted the English county Sussex to 95 for eight at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Henriques lashed an aggressive half-century to ignite the NSW Blues’ innings and then snared three wickets to help stifle Sussex’s run chase.
In tough batting conditions – pitch playing low and slow – at Feroz Shah Kotla, Phillip Hughes and Henriques stroked contrasting unbeaten half-centuries in the moderate total by the Australians, who had defeated the Eagles in their opening match on Friday.
The Sussex medium pacers Yasir Arafat, James Kirtley and the Barbadian Dwayne Smith delivered solid containing spells that prevented NSW Blues from flourishing, especially in the late overs.
Smith brilliantly run out David Warner (14) at 35 for one in the eighth over, executing a direct hit after a diving stop at gully.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (1-21) claimed the other wicket to fall when he removed Daniel Smith (2) at 40 for two in the ninth over.
The left-handed Hughes scored a measured 62 not out off 64 balls with four fours and one six and Henriques belted 51 off just 33 balls with three fours and two sixes.
The pair shared in an unbroken 90-run third-wicket stand.
Henriques was the chief wicket-taker disrupting the English side’s bid for victory and the economy rate by the Blues’ bowling attack was just as decisive.
Pacer Brett Lee picked up one for eight for a splendid economy rate of 2.00 in his four overs while his new-ball partner Doug Bollinger (1-13) bowled at 3.25.
Henriques claimed three for 23 off four overs at 5.75.
Chris Nash (24) was Sussex’s highest scorer and hard-hitting West Indian Smith struck two boundaries in a 15-ball 13 before he was bowled, off-stump by Bollinger trying to make room to cut.
SCOREBOARD
NEW SOUTH WALES Innings
D Warner run out (Smith) 14
P Hughes not out 62
+D Smith c Martin-Jenkins b Chawla 2
M Henriques not out 51
Extras (lb1) 1
TOTAL (2 wickets – 20 overs) 130
Did not bat: *S Katich, B Rohrer, S Smith, B Lee, N
Hauritz, S Clark, D Bollinger
Fall of wickets: 1-35 (Warner, 7.2 overs), 2-40 (D Smith,
8.4)
Bowling: Martin-Jenkins 2-0-14-0; Arafat 4-0-23-0;
Kirtley 3-0-15-0; Keegan 4-0-25-0; Chawla 2-0-21-1;
Hamilton-Brown 1-0-8-0; DR Smith 4-0-23-0
SUSSEX Innings
C Nash c Clark b Henriques 24
*E Joyce b Lee 0
R Hamilton-Brown
R Hamilton-Brown st D Smith b S Smith 13
DR Smith b Bollinger 13
J Gatting run out (Katich/Hauritz) 9
P Chawla c Hughes b Henriques 0
Yasir Arafat b Hauritz 1
+A Hodd c S Smith b Henriques 12
C Keegan not 10
R Martin-Jenkins not out 2
Extras (b5, lb4, w2) 11
TOTAL (8 wickets – 20 overs) 95
Did not bat: J Kirtley
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Joyce, 0.3 overs), 2-26 (Hamilton-
Brown, 6.1), 3-49 (Smith, 9.5), 4-64 (Nash, 13.3), 5-64
(Chawla, 13.4), 6-68 (Gatting, 14.5), 7-68 (Yasir Arafat,
14.6), 8-83 (Hodd, 17.4)
Bowling: Lee 4-1-8-1 (2w); Bollinger 4-0-13-1;
Henriques 4-0-23-3; Clark 3-0-20-0; S Smith 4-0-19-1;
Hauritz 1-0-3-1.
Result: NSW Blues win by 35 runs
Points: NSW Blues 2, Sussex 0
Man-of-the-Match: Moises Henriques (NSW Blues)
Toss: NSW Blues
Umpires: K Dharmasena, S Hazare
TV umpire: B Doctrove
Match Referee: R Mahanama