T10 League: Punjabi Legends beat Maratha Arabians by 43 runs

Punjabi Legends Umar Akmal plays a shot during the T10 League match against Maratha Arabians. Photo by M Sajjad

The tournament's wait for a nail-biting finish continued as the fifth match of the second edition of the T10 League also turned out to be a one-sided affair.
In what was both teams' first match of the tournament, Punjabi Legends beat Maratha Arabians by 43 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday night.
After being put into bat, Punjabi Legends overcame early setbacks to post a highly impressive total of 121/6 in 20 overs.
Early wickets from pacers Richard Gleeson (3/18) and Zahoor Khan (2/29) restricted the Legends to 27/3 in the fourth over.
But a 44-run partnership between Umar Akmal (31, 18 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) and UAE's World Cup hero Shaiman Anwar (25, 11 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) revived the Legends.
Then England all-rounder Chris Jordan (19 not out, 7 balls, 2 sixes), backed by Anwar Ali (7, 1 six) and Liam Punkett (7 not out, 1 six), played some big shots and helped the team finish their innings on a positive note.
In reply, Maratha Arabians (78 all out in 9.2 overs) simply collapsed under pressure as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Only England opener Alex Hales (32, 13 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) put up a fight, but the rest of the batsmen failed miserably.
Zahir Khan, a 19-year-old Afghan spinner, took three wickets, while Jordan claimed four.
Earlier, Sindhis beat Kerala Knights by nine wickets in the second game of the day and Bengal Tigers beat Northern Warriors by 36 runs in the first game.
On Wednesday, Rajputs beat Sindhis in the opening match of the tournament and Kerala Knights won their first game against Pakhtoons on the same day.
On Friday, Rajputs will play Pakhtoons (3:30pm), Maratha Arabians will face Bengal Tigers (5:45pm) and Punjabi Legends will lock horns with Northern Warriors (8pm).
Brief scores: Punjabi Legends 121/6 in 10 overs (Umar Akmal 31, Shaiman Anwar 25; Richard Gleeson 3/18, Zahoor Khan (2/29) beat Maratha Arabians 78 all out   in 9.2 overs (Alex Hales 32; Chris Jordan 4/6, Zahir Khan 3/8) by 43 runs.