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Sachin Tendulkar has not touched upon the match-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket in the 1990s in his autobiography because he felt it would be “unwise” to comment on subjects that he was not fully aware of

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2014Sachin Tendulkar has not touched upon the match-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket in the 1990s in his autobiography because he felt it would be “unwise” to comment on subjects that he was not fully aware of.”I think whatever things I knew 100% I have revealed because I back up those things. But the things I am not aware of fully, it would be unwise to comment on those,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by PTI on the eve of the launch of his book, . “I should have some evidence, I should know something in detail to talk about it because then it makes sense and it will be appreciated by people. But if I just start talking then it will not have any value.”The scandal had eventually led to a life ban for former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin and bans of shorter duration for Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar, all of whom were Tendulkar’s team-mates in the 1990s.When asked whether he felt some players had under-performed deliberately during that phase, Tendulkar said: “No, I mean the guys fail, but who doesn’t fail in life, everyone fails. It would be unfair to just pinpoint someone and say that he was under-performing, didn’t try his best, I can’t. I have played the sport for 24 years and failures do happen.”Tendulkar was also questioned about the perception that he rarely took a stand on major issues in cricket. “If you see in my book, issues on which people believed I should have taken a stand, the only things which I was 100% sure of I stood for that in my book,” he said. “If you have read some of the articles I have expressed myself whole-heartedly but on things which were not first-hand information, it is unwise to do that, it is a loose statement and I didn’t want to fire loose statements.”

The BCCI’s disciplinary committee has deferred taking a decision on what the future course of action in the Rajasthan Cricket Association suspension case should be

Amol Karhadkar20-Sep-20141:27

Can’t allow RCA to take part – Sanjay Patel

The RCA officials asked that Rajiv Shukla (left) be replaced on the disciplinary committee, given his “personal grudge against Lalit Modi”•AFP

Rajasthan players’ fate still unclear

The RCA and BCCI officials sat together at the same table for the first time since RCA’s suspension in May, but did not even touch upon the issue of Rajasthan cricketers’ participation in the forthcoming season.
“That was not the agenda of today’s meeting. Our take is that the players of Rajasthan should not suffer in any case and they should be allowed to play. We need to sit and find out a possible solution. But today’s agenda was not about the players’ participation in BCCI domestic tournaments,” Abdi said. “We came here to attend the so-called or the alleged disciplinary committee meeting.”
Patel said: “We have time and again mentioned that yes, we are in favour of the boys playing cricket. We are not against it. Unfortunately, they [the RCA] have mentioned that the ad-hoc committee [constituted to oversee cricket in disputed states] cannot be considered for this matter. I am also bound by the BCCI decision that RCA has been suspended, so we cannot allow an RCA team to take part.
“A probable solution is we have proposed to have a team from unrepresented [disputed] areas, so that boys from all these problem areas can play. That option is always open.”

The BCCI’s disciplinary committee has deferred taking a decision on what the future course of action in the Rajasthan Cricket Association suspension case should be. The decision was taken after a long meeting on Saturday between the committee and RCA officials, after the RCA officials raised several objections, including on the formation and make-up of the BCCI disciplinary committee itself.The RCA was suspended in May by the BCCI after former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who was expelled by the BCCI last year for “committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline”, was elected the state association’s president. The BCCI suspended it for allowing a banned individual to be a part of its affairs, and, later, omitted the various teams representing Rajasthan from its domestic programme for the upcoming season. That left the players anxious and confused as to what their future holds, and this meeting was supposed to clear up some of that confusion.Given the objections raised by the RCA officials, though, the players will have to wait a while more. “Our objection [to the disciplinary committee] was on two grounds,” Abdi, who was one of two RCA officials present, said. “One was the constitution and jurisdiction, and secondly about the quorum.” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel, who was also present, confirmed that the meeting had been deferred and the next date will be decided in due course.The disciplinary committee consists of BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav, vice-president Rajiv Shukla and sidelined president N Srinivasan. Srinivasan, who has been sidelined by the Supreme Court of India till the investigation into the alleged corruption in IPL 2013 is complete, was not part of the meeting.The RCA alleged that the BCCI disciplinary committee wasn’t constituted during the BCCI’s annual general meeting in 2013 as per its rulebook. Abdi also said that the committee has only two members as of now – sidelined BCCI president N Srinivasan, who is a member of the committee, was not present at the meeting – whereas the rules prescribe a three-member committee.In response, Patel stressed that the constitution of the committee was in accordance with rules. “As an honorary secretary who has attended that meeting, I am telling you that it is a proper committee,” Patel said. “The committee is constitutionally valid, properly appointed and approved by the AGM in the AGM. Everything has been done properly.”However, to establish his point further, Abdi asked that the minutes of the last AGM, held on September 29, 2013, in Chennai, be produced. “They told us that the minutes of the 2013 AGM are not at the cricket centre, whereas under their own bylaws within two months of the AGM the draft minutes of the AGM should be circulated to all the state associations, which they have not done even after a year,” Abdi said.Patel said the minutes could not be handed over since they will only be approved in the next AGM. “AGM minutes cannot be given as they are not finalised. Even today they are draft minutes. Minutes can be considered minutes only when they are passed in the next AGM,” he said.Abdi also demanded that Rajiv Shukla be replaced on the committee since, he alleged, he holds a personal grudge against Lalit Modi. “There has been a series of public spats between Mr Lalit Modi and Mr Rajiv Shukla on various issues concerning cricket and cricket politics. We objected to it, Mr Shukla being a member of the committee, it will prejudice the interest of the RCA.”The heart of the matter in the RCA controversy is election of Mr Lalit Modi, because the RCA was suspended only after Lalit Modi was elected as president. The suspension of RCA came about only on the day Lalit Modi was declared as the president of the RCA. Before his election there was no suspension. Mr Shukla having this kind of acrimony against Mr Lalit Modi should not be a member of the committee.”Abdi, who represented the RCA along with RCA secretary Sumendra Tiwary, also requested they be allowed additional legal assistance, but the request was turned down since the BCCI rules do not permit external legal assistance for internal matters.

ScorecardTim Phillips took Essex to victory•Getty Images

In his programme notes, Ryan ten Doeschate, the Essex captain, wrote about the need for his side to rediscover the type of form that has encouraged their Chelmsford ground to be regarded as a fortress. Tim Phillips must have been at least one avoid reader.Just as when it seemed lowly Middlesex had done enough to derail the Eagles’ charge and come away from the ground with the points, it was Phillips who staged a late assault to extend his side’s winning run to four games and keep them sitting pretty in South Group.After striding to the crease, with the home side 113 for 6 and on the brink of defeat, Phillips spanked four sixes to change the dynamic of an innings that Middlesex had controlled from the outset. With 13 to win off the final over, bowled by Gurjit Sandhu, Phillips launched one six into the boisterous Chelmsford crowd over midwicket before finishing the job with a top-edge that sailed over the rope and sent the crowd into delirium.Middlesex, who had fought so admirably and seemed as if they were going to make it two wins in three days, trudged off the field dejected. Not many sides come away from this ground on a Friday evening with the spoils and their efforts must be applauded. Yet their slim hopes of advancing to the knockout stages are now gone.A couple of days ago, the Panthers had lost eight consecutive Twenty20 games and were a side so muddled, the ignominy of a winless campaign was not implausible. They can now firmly concentrate on re-establishing their Championship form. For Essex, their interest is firmly on the Natwest T20.Should Essex manage to advance to the latter stages of this competition, they will look back on this result as one that could well shape their campaign. So parlous was their position that pockets of the 5,000 strong crowd had started heckling their own players. But all was forgotten when Phillips began depositing Middlesex’s threadbare attack to all parts.The all-rounder’s innings was made even more remarkable by what had gone before. Only Eoin Morgan had managed to bat with any sort of fluency on his way to a pugnacious half-century and even then, runs had to be earned.Morgan played with all the swagger expected from an England limited-overs specialist as he clubbed nine boundaries, including two lusty sixes, to thrust Middlesex to 153 for 5. It had seemed, for so long, that it was going to be enough but Essex had other ideas.There were given scare though. On debut, 19-year-old Harry Podmore had Jesse Ryder caught in the deep and as others scratched around him, Pettini’s innings lost the impetus he had built up during the powerplay. Their much revered batting line-up came and went without a whimper as the decibel levels decreased with every passing wicket.Phillips, however, combined with ten Doeschate to keep the contest alive and as the equation became more achievable, Middlesex’s demons resurfaced. The departure of ten Doeschate in the penultimate over, caught by a diving Morgan at cover, seemed to swing the balance back in Middlesex’s favour. But that only gave Phillips the license to free his arms.Middlesex remain over reliant on Morgan. Not only did he bind their innings together with a pugnacious half-century but his effervescence and leadership in the field sets the standards.His departure, in the fifteenth over, run-out in avoidable circumstances coming back for an improbable second, saw Middlesex’s innings direction. Neil Dexter and John Simpson were assiduous in approach rather than extravagant in the knowledge that there was little ammunition to follow with just one boundary registered in the final five overs.

Paras Khadka, Nepal’s captain, has spoken many sage words about his team and the development of cricket in their home country during the World T20

Alan Gardner in Chittagong20-Mar-2014

Paras Khadka, Nepal’s captain, has spoken many sage words about his team and the development of cricket in their home country during the World T20. After they had secured a first ever win over Afghanistan in this format, capping an outstanding showing at their maiden global tournament, Khadka said “the real journey” begins now.A tense, nine-run win, sealed in the last over, eliminated their Associate rivals Afghanistan and kept alive slim hopes of reaching the second round until a nervous Bangladesh did enough to hold off Hong Kong’s chase. All of Nepal’s bowlers either took wickets or restricted runs in another all-round team effort but it was two high-pressure catches by Khadka as Afghanistan threatened to come back that caught the eye. “I had to take them, I had no other choice,” he said.Nepal’s rise through the game’s lower echelons has captured the imagination, providing an example of what Associates can do in the manner of Ireland and Afghanistan before them. Short-term success does not guarantee continued progress, however – as the decline of Kenya after reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup attests – and Khadka said that there remained much work to be done in developing the game.”The two wins in this tournament means a lot to us. Like I said before the tournament – we came here to compete. We have always tried to win every game that we have played for our country. It will always give us a great boost moving forward and push us to do better as well as have great impact on the youngsters who are coming up and wants to take cricket.”This was the first time we qualified and managed to win two games. So it is a great achievement by itself which we are taking back home. But now the real journey begins. We have to do the home work and start again from the beginning and put the structure right back home and try to produce better results in future.”A blow to their hopes came only in January, when they lost all four of their group games at the World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. The top four teams in that competition, along with Ireland and Afghanistan who had already secured World Cup berths, were either granted or maintained ODI status. There is also uncertainty over Nepal’s T20 international status. The ICC decided to make all World T20 games full internationals but it has previously been linked to ODI status; a decision on whether to decouple the two has yet to be made by the ICC.”I think it’s something you should ask the ICC, with the globalisation of the game,” Khadka said. “I cannot comment on the ODI status, unfortunately we had this 50-over World Cup Qualifier but we couldn’t perform well there. We will take it slowly. Of course we want to be an ODI-playing nation but then again it is upon the ICC and the world’s cricket structure. I hope we can push ourselves to perform well in any game that we play.”None the less, Nepal’s win over Afghanistan gave them another memory to treasure. Khadka praised the bowling of Jitendra Mukhiya, whose 3 for 18 was vital in puncturing a powerful batting line-up, but it was the captain who appeared at Sompal Kami’s shoulder with some calming words during the final over, when Ashgar Stanikzai was threatening to hit the 24 required all by himself. He preferred to talk about the chance his team had grabbed, rather than his own contribution.”I think we should forget the catches. We have won the match. We are pretty pleased. We have always been trying to push ourselves to do better. We have been playing against Afghanistan for a very long time and they are a very good team and we know that. So to beat them you have to take every chance and score a decent amount of runs and back it up by good bowling. So we managed to do all the three today. So it is like when you do things right there are moments – the key moments and we managed to grab those chances.”

Central Zone

Three wickets apiece from Imtiaz Ahmed and Piyush Chawla helped set up Uttar Pradesh‘s five-wicket win against Rajasthan in Jaipur. Rohit Sharma was the only Rajasthan batsman to offer some resistance, scoring 58, as Imtiaz and Chawla ran through their line-up to bundle the team out for 171. Uttar Pradesh lost three quick wickets during the chase, but Mohammad Kaif (59) put up fifty-plus stands with Suresh Raina and Akshdeep Nath to take the team home in 38.1 overs.Naman Ojha’s 94 nearly guided Madhya Pradesh to victory, but tight bowling from Railways resulted in MP falling eight runs short. MP, chasing 257, lost Jalaj Saxena in the third over, but Ojha waged a counterattack by combining with Mohnish Mishra and Rameez Khan for two big partnerships. MP needed 64 off the last 10 overs, but Anureet Singh (4 for 49) dented MP’s progress with strikes at regular intervals and in the end, the team could only make 248 for 9 from their 50 overs. Railways, batting first, had been propelled by starts from all their top order, but it was Mahesh Rawat’s 67 and his 77-run association with Arindam Ghosh that helped them to 256 for 6.

South Zone

Fifties from M Vijay and Baba Aparajith helped Tamil Nadu cruise to a 125-run win against Hyderabad in Bangalore after the match was reduced to 45 overs per side. Vijay and Aparajith added 142 runs for the second wicket to buoy Tamil Nadu to a mammoth 280 for 4. Aparajith struck four fours and two sixes during his 91, while Vijay’s run-a-ball 90 included six fours and three sixes. With 206 runs and fifty in each of his three games, Vijay is currently the leading run-scorer in the tournament. Akshath Reddy and Ashish Reddy both scored forties for Hyderabad, both only four batsmen managed to reach double digits during their chase. Lakshmipathy Balaji and Rahil Shah snared three wickets each to skittle Hyderabad out for 155 in 35.5 overs.Ricky Bhui’s unbeaten century helped Andhra chase down 269 against Goa with four wickets remaining. Bhui drilled eight fours and six sixes during his 79-ball 103, and added an unbroken 84 with Dasari Swaroop Kumar to take Andhra home in 48.4 overs. The platform for the team’s chase, however, had been laid by the captain Prasanth Kumar’s 90. Amit Yadav was the pick of Goa’s bowlers and finished with 3 for 45. Goa, put in to bat, had made 268 for 6 on the back of fifties from Sagun Kamat (65) and Harshad Hanumant Gadekar (61), but it was ultimately not enough.A strong batting display from Karnataka, led by a century from Robin Uthappa, helped the team crush Kerala by 104 runs in Alur. Uthappa hit 11 fours and two sixes during his run-a-ball 104, while KL Rahul (51) and Karun Nair (60) both scored fifties to lift Karnataka to 317 for 5. Rohan Prem led Kerala’s chase with a quick century (103) of his own, but barring a 32 from Robert Fernandez, he received little support from the other end. Vinay Kumar finished with 5 for 34 to run through Kerala in 46.2 overs, bowling them out for 213.

West Zone

Gujarat won their third straight match in the tournament, beating Baroda by a comfortable 73 runs in Rajkot. That Gujarat would cruise to a win was not apparent at the start, when Irfan Pathan took out Parthiv Patel with the first ball of the game. Gujarat’s other opener, Dhruv Raval, was also out for a duck, to Munaf Patel. But then Ruju Bhatt steadied the innings with 86 and Jesal Karia boosted the total with a rapid 53, to set Baroda 240. Baroda’s innings was off to an even worse start than Gujarat’s though; they lost half their side inside the first nine overs. They never recovered, eventually folding for 166 in the 39th over. Close to half those runs came off the bat of Irfan Pathan – he made 79 off 88.A 114-run association between Sushant Marathe and Iqbal Abdulla paved the way for Mumbai‘s five-wicket win against Saurashtra in Rajkot. Marathe (88) and Abdulla (55) both scored half-centuries and whacked 14 fours between them to help Mumbai chase down 245 in 48.3 overs. Saurashtra, batting first, had earlier scored 244 for 7. Their innings was built on the back of Arpit Vasavada’s unbeaten 99, and his partnerships with Bhushan Chauhan (46) and Sheldon Jackson (53). For Mumbai, Dhawal Kulkarni took three wickets.

Sri Lanka have included batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage and legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna in their ODI squad for the series against Pakistan in the UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2013

Sri Lanka have included batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage and legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna in their ODI squad for the series against Pakistan in the UAE in December. Vithanage was a replacement for Mahela Jayawardene, who asked not to be considered, as his wife is expecting their first child in December.Prasanna, meanwhile, came in for Ajantha Mendis, who was dropped from the squad despite not playing an ODI in the recent series against New Zealand. Prasanna last played an ODI for Sri Lanka in March 2012, against Pakistan during the Asia Cup in Dhaka. Vithanage is yet to play a limited-overs international for Sri Lanka, but had played in the home Test series against Bangladesh in March.Opener Dimuth Karunaratne was also retained in the ODI side, despite having been dropped after two failures during the New Zealand series. He will likely be the back-up opener to Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Perera, who marked a return to international form with a brisk fifty in the second Twenty20 against New Zealand.The SLC release said Rangana Herath had been rested from the Twenty20 squad because of the volume of cricket he has played in recent times, and given Sri Lanka’s busy schedule until the 2015 World Cup. He does find a place in the ODI squad, however.Ramith Rambukwella’s selection in the T20 squad is subject to him recovering from the knee injury he sustained in the second T20 against New Zealand.Fast bowler Shaminda Eranga remains out of the reckoning for limited overs cricket, although he had had moderate success, particularly in ODIs, during the year. Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said Suranga Lakmal had been preferred to Eranga because “Lakmal is bowling better at the moment”. He however added that Eranga is likely to be part of the Test team.Jayawardene is also expected to be available for the three Tests, which begin on December 31.ODI squad Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Ashan Priyanjan, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Seekkuge PrasannaTwenty20 squad Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lasith Malinga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suranga Lakmal, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Ramith Rambukwella (subject to fitness)

MatériaMais Notícias

تقام اليوم الأحد 16-7-2023، مباراتان ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز، في ختام الموسم الحالي 2022 – 2023.

الأهلي يواجه المقاولون العرب، على استاد الجبل الأخضر، في الجولة 34 والأخيرة من بطولة الدوري المصري.

طالع أيضًا | نائب رئيس لجنة الحكام يرد على خطاب الأهلي ويقيّم أداء محمود البنا في القمة

ويلتقي الزمالك نظيره فاركو، على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي، في ختام مشوار الفريق الأبيض بالبطولة المحلية هذا الموسم. مواعيد مباريات اليوم الأحد 16-7-2023 والقنوات الناقلةمواعيد مباريات الدوري المصري

الأهلي والمقاولون العرب، 7:00 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتنقل عبر Ontime sports 1.

الزمالك وفاركو، 9:30 بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتذاع على Ontime sports 2.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.

Graham Onions claimed a five-wicket haul on a shortened day to hand Durham a useful 60-run lead over Yorkshire

David Hopps at Chester-le-Street25-Apr-2013
ScorecardHigh five: Graham Onions claimed his first five-wicket haul of the season to take his tally to 16•Getty Images

Batting is a tough proposition in Durham in April and it gets no tougher than when Graham Onions is scowling at you at the end of his run. Durham traditionally refers to itself as the land of the Prince Bishops, but when Onions gets the ball in his hand it becomes the land of the High Fives. He even high fives in slightly menacing fashion. You get the impression that it is best not to mess up a high five with Onions, never mind put a catch down in the slips.Under northern skies, nobody can match Onions’ threat. Stern-faced and hostile, with jet black hair, he gives the impression that he might have been chiselled from the landscape itself; the harshest side of the hill, the one forever exposed to the blast of northerly winds. Nobody carries a county side with more resolve, nobody suggests more often that they are capable of turning a game single-handedly.He nagged away constantly, unpicking the merest hint of a slovenly technique, his length full and insistent, his bouncer quick enough to keep a batsman honest. Yorkshire, newly promoted and not yet hardened to their challenge, surrendered five wickets to him and will have to meet him with more acumen second time around if they are to recover a first-innings deficit of 60. They came into Division One with a long unbeaten run behind them, but they are struggling to up their game.While Onions rests, Durham privately wonder whether they have the capacity to maintain their first division status. When they throw him the ball, they feel like world beaters. Drizzle prevented play until after 4pm but, when Onions was finally allowed on the prowl, two England players, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, succumbed to his 10-over spell, as did another batsman increasingly attracting glowing reports, Gary Ballance. Add his two wickets overnight, and he had five of the first six Yorkshire wickets to fall.Onions had an inactive time with England in the winter, when the wickets were deemed too unresponsive to suit him. He might have anticipated as much in India, as the Test series was contested on turning decks, but to arrive in New Zealand in the New Year to find the pitches unusually moribund was deeply frustrating. He never made England’s final XI; en entire winter spent waiting and watching. Nobody took more wickets in Division One last season – 64 at only 14.98 – and he looks bent upon retribution.Root suffered for sluggish footwork, half forward at best and bowled off stump. Until then, his 49 had been made with good tempo, which was good to see after his travails of the winter when spinning pitches in India, followed by turgid surfaces in New Zealand, allied to England’s need to show defensive intent and his own limitations, all contributed to dogged Test innings of near-strokelessness.Bairstow’s dismissal was a soft one. Onions stopped at the end of his run and waved his two fielders on the hook 10 yards finer. He banged in the bouncer wide of off-stump, Bairstow tried to paddle it to the leg side and plopped it into the hands of Mark Stoneman at deep square leg. It has to be said that with a shot like that Bairstow did not look as if he had been chiselled from any sort of landscape at all. Ballance then edged to the wicketkeeper.With Onions spent, Yorkshire might have imagined that the threat had subsided, but four overs later Ben Stokes had Adil Rashid lbw and, in the following over, Tim Bresnan slashed at Chris Rushworth and Paul Collingwood clung on in the slips. Under blue evening skies, Liam Plunkett, remained undefeated against his former county but two more wickets for Stokes brought Durham a useful first-innings lead.

Kings were cruising at 75 for 1 in the chase before they unravelled

Danyal Rasool25-Apr-2025A remarkable bowling comeback from Quetta Gladiators saw them squeeze Karachi Kings out by five runs to defend 142 – the lowest PSL total ever defended at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Kings were cruising at 75 for 1 in eight overs, requiring 68 in 72 balls before a near-perfect rearguard saw Gladiators puncture their way through Kings’ batting line-up. The next eight overs produced just 27 runs and five wickets as spin and pace alike kept up pressure which Kings melted in the face of.None of this seemed possible while Tim Seifert promised to make short work of a low target. Mohammad Amir struck in the first over to dismiss David Warner, but James Vince and Seifert brushed off the early blow, flying out of the blocks and bearing down on the target. Vince went after Amir in his second over while Seifert took down Khurram Shahzad, carrying on with his dominance by smashing 19 off Faheem Ashraf almost all by himself in the eighth over.Thereafter, though, Kings strangely fell apart. Saud Shakeel brought himself on and bowled a superb first over that produced the wicket of Vince. It brought Shan Masood to the crease, who would endure a torrid time, struggling to get bat on ball. By the time he fell, he had scratched 9 off 17, while Seifert, too had holed out off Mohammad Wasim.Abrar Ahmed’s superb spell produced the wicket he deserved in his final over, a googly producing an outside edge from Khushdil Shah that first slip clung on to. He had conceded just 15 in his four, and by the end of his spell, the asking rate had climbed beyond eight. Gladiators’ intensity had risen significantly, with a superb fielding and catching performance complementing their bowlers.Kings would never regroup and mount a serious assault on the target again. Wickets scattered in the win; Amir returned and bounced out Mohammad Nabi while Abbas Afridi was trapped in front by Khurram Shahzad. By now, Gladiators were well into the Kings tail, and though Hasan Ali swung for the fences in the dying stages of the chase, the light had gone out for Kings, and Gladiators scooped up two points.It was in the first innings, after Kings opted to field, that the foundation for what should have been a victory was laid. Hasan Ali was in one of those moods where he can rip through an opposition, and sent back openers Finn Allen and Shakeel within four deliveries. He induced Rilee Rossouw to chop on in his second over, and wickets would continue to fall after the powerplay. Mark Chapman was split in half by Nabi while Kusal Mendis scooped one to long-on after another inventive cameo that saw him accumulate 36 off 22.Resistance from Hasan Nawaz and, more tellingly, Faheem, pushed Gladiators’ total into territory that would eventually end up being defensible. They combined for 59 off 47, with Faheem’s destructiveness at odds with the struggles off his team-mates; his 27-ball 43 dragged Gladiators beyond 140. It felt like a contribution in heroic failure, but ended up being the catalyst for a glorious triumph.