It was a match of no consequence for either team, but Sialkot Stallions
will leave South African shores with greater confidence, having put in
an all-round performance against the English domestic champions. Two
individual performances from youngsters on either side stood out - Haris
Sohail's unbeaten 63 the highlight, as it was a match-winning knock.
Glenn Maxwell scored a counter-attacking 42 when his team, Hampshire,
needed runs, but a score of 143 wasn't imposing enough for Sialkot.
A combined bowling effort by Sialkot kept Hampshire to that score, well
short of what Trinidad and Tobago had managed earlier in the day, with
only 31 runs scored in the last five overs. Hampshire lost early wickets
in search of quick runs, scratched around for the first ten overs,
surged in the middle overs thanks to an entertaining cameo from Maxwell
but lost their way after his dismissal. It was a pitch that offered
something for the spinners and seamers. Sarfraz Ahmed, the tall left-arm
seamer with an unusual action, got a few to bounce off a good length to
pose questions for the openers. Shoaib Malik got turn and bounce and
those that skidded through weren't easy to put away either.
Hampshire would have ideally liked one from the top order to bat through
for the majority of the overs, but regular strikes stalled their
progress. The run-outs didn't help - they lost two of their top order
off direct hits. Hampshire had only managed 59 off the first ten overs
and it was up to their overseas picks to give the innings a push.
Maxwell was harsh on the pull, connecting a few off the seamers and
sending the ball several rows over the on side. He picked Naved-ul-Hasan
for consecutive sixes in an over which yielded 16, and added 56 with
Shahid Afridi. However, Sialkot pulled things back with a quiet over by
the seamer Bilawal Bhatti, whose skiddy pace kept Maxwell in check.
Hampshire were 113 for 4 after 16 overs and in the search for quick
runs, both Maxwell and Afridi fell off successive balls off Umaid Asif.
The lower order though failed to push the score past 150.
The Sialkot top order didn't look at ease against the Hampshire seamers,
limping to 26 for 2 after the Powerplay. A couple of pressure-relieving
boundaries by Sohail off the left-armer Chris Wood put Sialkot on the
path to stability. It helped to have the experienced Malik at the other
end as they calmly pushed the singles in between. Sialkot were 62 for 3
after ten overs, just three ahead of Hampshire's at the same stage.
Malik showed some aggressive intent, charging the left-arm spinner Liam
Dawson and launching him for a six and four off consecutive deliveries.
Crucially, Sialkot didn't let themselves get bogged down with a boundary
drought - the pair ensured they picked up at least one boundary per
over on an average. From the 11th to the start of the 18th over, when
they were separated, they picked up ten boundaries. It also hurt
Hampshire that their most experienced bowler, Afridi, couldn't effect
the breakthroughs or stem the flow of runs. Sohail pounced on anything
short and wide from Afridi, and by the time the spinner picked up a
wicket - that of Malik - Sialkot were well on course needing 20 off 17.
Malik's 96-run association with Sohail had all but sealed the game. It
was a pity though that the tournament format didn't allow Sialkot to
build on the momentum.
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