Maratha Arabians beat Sindhis to enter next stage

Sharjah - On Saturday, Northern Warriors will play Pakhtoons for a place in Sunday's final.

In Friday's last match of the T10 League, Maratha Arabians registered an easy nine-wicket win over Sindhis to enter the next stage of the tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
After electing to field, Maratha Arabians, inspired by Rahid Khan (3/15), restricted Sindhis to 98/4 in 10 overs.
For the Sindhis, captain Shane Watson (46 not out, 28 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) was the only batsman to have played with freedom against the Maratha bowlers.
The rest of the batters couldn't cope with the pressure as Rashid dismissed Anton Devcich (6), Thisara Perera (17, 10 balls, 2 sixes) failed to make their starts count.
Only Ben Cutting, the Australian all-rounder, managed to handle the pressure as he shared 25 runs with Watson in 12 balls.
In reply, Afghan batsman Najibullah Zadran (60 not out, 24 balls, 3 fours, 7 sixes) produced some exhilarating strokeplay after Maratha Arabians lost their first wicket - Hazratullah Zazai (5) -in the first over.
Alex Hales (30 not out, 16 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) also remained unbeaten as the England opener shared 89 runs with Zadran.
Thanks to their brilliant partnership, Maratha Arabians reached the target in 7.1 overs.
Now Northern Warriors (10 points), Pakhtoons (8 points), Maratha Arabians (6 points) and Bengal Tigers (6 points) qualified for the next stage of the tournament.
On Saturday, Northern Warriors will play Pakhtoons for a place in Sunday's final.
The losers of the match will still have a chance to qualify for the final if they beat the winners of the Eliminator between Maratha Arabians and Bengal Tigers.
Brief scores: Sindhis 98/4 in 10 overs (Shane Watson 46 not out; Rashid Khan 3/15) lost to Maratha Arabians 99/1 in 7.1 overs (Najibullah Zadran 60 not out; Alex Hales 30 not out) by nine wickets.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com