Recap: 5 Greatest Moments from 2017 T10 League

The T10 league’s second season will be played later this year as the drafts of the same would be prepared on 24^th September. This season, there would be eight teams participating in the tournament, two more than last time around. The first edition of the tournament was played from 14-17 December in 2017, and there certainly were some moments that were etched in the memories of the supporters.

With the 2018 edition arriving, we take a blast from the past!

#5 Shahid Afridi’s hat-trick

Shahid Afridi has always been an entertainer in the shorter formats of the game, and accordingly, it did not take long for him to leave a mark in the inaugural T10 league. Afridi was leading the Pakhtoons and notched consecutive three wickets in the fifth over of this innings.

He firstly got Rilee Rossouw dismissed when the South African tried to clear the boundary line, but could not generate enough bat-swing and was caught by Najibullah Zadran at long on. Later, Afridi plumbed DJ Bravo and Virender Sehwag in front of the stumps and, in the process, completed the first-ever hat trick by a bowler in the T10 league.

The Maratha Arabians lost the momentum in the innings, and eventually could not script a comeback. Afridi’s excellence on the field ensured that his team gained control while defending their target, and eventually succeeded in winning the match.
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#4 Thriller between Pakhtoons and the Bengal Tigers

Due to the short course and duration of the tournament, the first playoff was played on 16^th December, and it turned out to be an absolute thriller as the Pakhtoons had to play until the final delivery to secure a victory.

The Tigers scored 126 runs from ten overs, courtesy of a swashbuckling innings from David Miller who scored 68 runs from 28 deliveries. Afridi’s Pakhtoons got off to a decent start, but unlike their opposition, they gradually steadied their innings. Ahmed Shehzad, Shahid Afridi, and Fakhar Zaman played crucial knocks at an excellent run rate too.

However, there was a certain unrest in the innings after Zaman’s departure just before the final over. Liam Dawson scored 19 runs from five deliveries, in the end, to ensure a victory over the Bengal Tigers, scoring at a strike rate of 380.

Dawson was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ title, for his timely knock in the final over, ably complemented with his bowling performance where he took one wicket and conceded only six runs in a single over.
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#3 Sohail Tanvir’s stunner

The T10 league is meant to be dominated by batsmen, as the shorter version of the game gives them the license to attack and not constrain themselves for stability.

They can go berserk from the opening deliveries and not worry about losing wickets in a flurry, as there are capable middle-order batsmen waiting for the openers.

In such situations, it is difficult for the bowlers to carve their impact in the game, as neither the rules nor the playing conditions seem to favor them. However, Pakistan’s pacer Sohail Tanvir delivered bowling figures of 2-0-12-3.

He dismissed Alex Hales and Rossouw in the earlier stages of the innings, and returned back to scalp Imad Wasim’s wicket too.

He accordingly notched up three wickets in two overs, thus disrupting the opposition’s flow of runs and restricting them to a decent total. In addition to the three wickets, Tanvir conceded only 12 runs and thus capped off a brilliant performance from T10 standards.
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#2 Highest run chase of the tournament:

The Pakhtoons and the Punjabi Legends were to face each other, in order to decide the finalist against Kerela Kings.

It was expected to be a high-scoring encounter, and the teams did not disappoint as the Pakhtoons started off brilliantly, due to some enviable gameplay from Ahmed Shehzad.

The right-hander was in sumptuous form, as he, along with Shahid Afridi, combined to provide a strong base for the overall target. They added 60 runs in almost four overs together, and accordingly put up a great total on the board.

However, the Punjabi Legends did not hold back either, as Luke Ronchi and Shoaib Malik ensured that they snatched a comfortable victory, though the prospects of it happening were quite unlikely in the beginning.

Ronchi struck a half-century, as Malik raced to 48 runs in just 17 deliveries, and chased 130 quite easily.

The Pakhtoons were unable to stop the onslaught, as they succumbed to the dominance caused by the batting prowess of Malik and Ronchi. Accordingly, the Punjabi Legends proceeded to the finals.
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#1 The final

Luke Ronchi continued to entertain the audience with his commendable range of strokes and his innings in the finals was just a testament to that fact. The Kiwi scored more than 50 runs in each of his three innings, as he continued to assert his authority over the bowlers even in the finals.

Batting first, the Punjabi Legends scored 120 runs, out of which 70 were scored by Ronchi. However, Eoin Morgan’s composure and the ability to lead his team through the thick and thin meant that he starred in the showpiece match of the tournament.

Morgan scored 63 runs as Paul Stirling supported him well with a good unbeaten knock of 53 runs. More interestingly, such was Kerala’s stronghold over the match, they chased off the target in the eight over itself and were rightly crowned as the champions of the first season.