Rawalpindi Raiders Vs Gujranwala Giants: Giants survive with four-wicket win

• Batsmen Shevon Daniel and Uzair Mumtaz top-scored with 98 runs.
• Giants chase 129 runs after losing opener Hamza Nawaz on first ball.
• Habibullah scored 50 consecutive runs off 53 balls.

By winning their opening game of the competition against Rawalpindi Raiders on Friday afternoon at the Gaddafi Stadium, Gujranwala Giants maintained their chances of earning a playoff spot in the Pakistan Junior League.

The Raiders have lost twice in four games and are still without a postseason spot, while the Giants have two points from four games (three losses) (four points).

The Giants’ batting performance, which they used to chase down 129 runs after losing opener Hamza Nawaz to a run out on the first delivery of the innings, was led by Shevon Daniel and captain Uzair Mumtaz. Azan Awais, the third batter, was thrown out lbw. Giants were struggling at eight for two in 2.1 overs as a result of the early shocks.

Daniels, a talented Sri Lankan batsman who had scored 81 runs in Giants’ last over loss to Bahawalpur Royals, joined Uzair. After carefully repairing the damage, the two accelerated as the asking rate increased.

The Giants took back control of their low chase thanks in part to some great shots from Daniels. Daniels needed 40 balls to get his second fifty of the competition. When Uzair reached 47 (in the 14th over), he was dropped in the deep. Daniels then left the game in the following over after being caught at long-off by Afnan.

In 41 balls, the left-hander scored 50 points (three fours, two sixes). Together, Uzair and Daniels contributed 98 runs for the third wicket. Uzair needed 36 balls to reach his second 50 of the competition. Mohammad Waqas and Hasnain Majid fell after attempting pointless big smashes, and Giants lost two wickets in three deliveries to Ali Raza. When Matthew Tromp tried to make a second run, he was run out, causing more concern in the Giants’ bench. The Giants needed 11 out of 19 balls when he left the game.

To calm the tension in the Giants dugout, Tom Aspinwall ended the game alongside his captain. Uzair finished the chase with 11 unused balls and was still unbeaten at 56 off 42 balls (three fours, two sixes). For the Raiders, Ali Raza took two wickets.

The Giants had earlier requested that the Raiders bat first. Hassan Eisakhil, the opener, was dismissed for 22 in the fifth over after scoring 34 runs. Hassan was followed to the dugout by Aseer Mughal (9) with the score at 46 in the seventh over.

The team’s captain, Habibullah, took the initiative and batted steadily for 50 consecutive runs. The right-55 hander’s off 53 balls included some creative strokes (five fours, two sixes).

Ali Ishaq scored 26 (24 balls) and was the fourth batter out as Habibullah and Ali added 65 runs for the third wicket. Afnan Khan was caught in the deep by Matthew Tromp after Charlie Tear (#0) was run out on the first ball he faced, further complicating matters for the Raiders.

In the same over where Zia also failed to clear the ropes, Tromp made another progress. At 123 for seven in the 19th over, Raiders were in trouble after Ziaullah’s dismissal. When Tromp clean bowled Amir Hassan, he gave his team their third wicket of the over. Tromp finished with outstanding statistics of 4-0-19-3, conceding just five runs.

Kai Smith and Ali Raza were both out for ducks by pacer Mohammad Ibtisam, who also closed the innings with impressive figures of 3.3-0-23-3. Taking two wickets for 23 runs, Ali Asfand.

Raiders saw a significant collapse as they lost their final eight wickets for an additional 17 runs, going from 111 for two to 128 all out in the span of 19 deliveries.

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