Pakistan batter Iftikhar Ahmed played the ongoing Abu Dhabi T10 League 2022's most impactful knock as he scored an unbeaten 83-run knock from 30 deliveries for Bangla Tigers against Delhi Bulls on November 30. Iftikhar’s lone effort meant that Dwayne Bravo's men would fall short of the target even after some sensational hitting in the slog overs.
Iftikhar walked in to bat in the fourth over after Tigers had lost both their openers Joe Clarke (25) and Hazaratullah Zazai (9). Iftikhar did not take any time to settle and hit Dravo for a six over deep mid-wicket off the first ball he faced. He followed it up with a boundary.
Bangla Tigers vs Delhi Bulls, Abu Dhabi T10 League 2022 Highlight
Colin Munro did not do much damage in the partnership. Iftikhar took on Harbhajan Singh, Richard Gleeson in the middle overs. He went ballistic in the eight over of the innings. First, he reached his half-century with a six off Gleeson. He reached the milestone from just 19 deliveries. Iftikhar hit two more sixes and a four in the over. 26 runs were scored in the eighth over.
While Bravo bowled a fantastic penultimate over despite a no ball, Iftikhar helped Tigers reach 133/2 batting first. In the unbeaten 95-run partnership for the third wicket, Munro scored just 13 runs from 14 deliveries. The Kiwi batter did not score a single boundary in the innings whereas Iftikhar batted with a strike rate of 276.67.
For Bulls, the most economical bowler turned out to be Caribbean pacer Keemo Paul who conceded 16 runs and picked up the wicket of Clarke.
In the run chase of 134, Banton (4) got early to Rohan Mustafa. Rilee Rossouw showed some promise but became Umair Ali's victim after scoring 15 runs including two sixes. Jordan Cox struggled to keep up with the demanding required run rate. Cox scored 34 runs from 21 deliveries including two fours and as many sixes. Cox was dismissed by Luke Fletcher in the eighth over.
Tim David showcased his big-hitting in the last two overs when 54 runs were needed to win. In the penultimate over he hit left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir for two sixes in the 15-run over. As it was impossible to chase down 39 in six legal deliveries, David finished the innings with four consecutive sixes off Fletcher. He got to his half-century as well from 20 deliveries but Bulls ended up losing the match by 12 runs.
