Global Super League
By Michelangelo Jacobus
The inaugural edition of the ExxonMobil Global Super League (GSL) got underway with the home team, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, cantering to a six-wicket win over the Lahore Qalandars at the Providence National Stadium, East Bank Demerara, in front of a sparse crowd.
Imran Tahir, returning as Warriors’ skipper, set the tone for the evening by winning the toss and sending the opposition in.
The Qalandars batting faltered in the face of some disciplined bowling from the Warriors and were bowled out for just 125 in 19.2 overs.
Opener Mirza Baig made history for the wrong reason, becoming the first wicket to fall in the GSL, out Leg Before Wicket (LBW) to Tamzin Hasan Sakib for 5. From there, it went all downhill for the Qalandars as the Warriors continued to take wickets steadily with only two batsmen standing up to them.
Adam Rossington, who opened with Baig, got off to a fluid start, making 25 (19 balls) striking three fours and a pair of sixes during his stay at the crease; however, he became the second wicket to fall, out-caught off the bowling of Hassan Khan.
When he fell, the other batsman to stand tall was Tom Abell, who top-scored with a patient 45-ball 48, stroking just two fours in his innings as he looked to forge partnerships, albeit unsuccessfully.
Abell had managed to drag his side from 52/3 to 121/6 in 17 overs, and they looked set to get to at-least a 140+ score at that point.
Enter Dwain Pretorius with the 18th over; first he got Tom Abell out caught by Keemo Paul off the first ball before going on to snare three more wickets in the over, effectively ripping the backbone out of the Qalandars innings.
He then removed Carlos Braithwaite (9) two balls later in the same fashion, then, from the very next ball, he had Asif Afridi out for a first-ball duck. As if that wasn’t enough, Pretorius closed off the over with the scalp of Fahim Ashraf for good measure. It only took two more balls to wrap up the Qalandars batting effort, as Salman Mirza fell to Hasan Sakib with 125 on the board.
Pretorius captured 4/21 (four overs), and he was well supported by Hasan Sakib, who had 2/20 (3.2 overs), while Hassan Khan returned 2/31 (four overs).
In chase of 126 for victory, the Warriors lost a few wickets before Shai Hope (45 not out) along with Keemo Paul (27 not out) saw them home in emphatic fashion.
Opener Mark Deyal was the first to go, out caught off the penultimate ball of the first over off the bowling of Salman Mirza to leave the Warriors 3-1. Despite losing Deyal early on, Moen Ali struck a flurry of boundaries, striking three fours in his knock of 17 (19 balls) before he too made his exit, caught by Braithwaite to become Mirza’s second wicket.
Shai Hope, who came in at three, would hold his end as Shimron Hetmyer (14) and Roston Chase (15) both lost their wickets to leave Guyana 96/4 in the 15th over.
But the resilience of Hope and the ferocious hitting of Paul saw them home without further loss of wickets.
Mirza, who already had the wickets of the openers, was given the 18th over to bowl, and Paul took a liking to him, smashing three consecutive boundaries to seal the win. First he carted Mirza for six, then a four and another six off a no-ball as Guyana ended on 129/4 in 17.5 overs.
Mirza ended with figures of 2/35 (3.5 overs), while Afridi accounted for the other two wickets to fall.
The event continues with the Warriors, Qalandars, Rangpur Riders, Victoria, and Hampshire Hawks playing each other at Providence in a league format. The top two finishers in the league phase will face each other in the final next Friday (December 6).
