ILT20 Development Tournament: Opening week registered Blitzers, Pearls, Thunderbolts and Marvels as winning teams

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Six tournament squads finalized through a Player Draft, ILT20 Blitzers, ILT20 Braves, ILT20 Dynamos, ILT20 Marvels, ILT20 Pearls and ILT20 Thunderbolts competing in the 18-match tournament.

Dubai: ILT20 Blitzers, ILT20 Pearls, ILT20 Thunderbolts, and ILT20 Marvels recorded impressive wins in the opening weekend of the ILT20 Development Tournament. The tournament is aimed at providing a potential opportunity to UAE players with 13 spots for UAE players still up for grabs in the DP World ILT20 Season 2.

Match Reports:

In the tournament opener, player of the match Usman Khan’s unbeaten 68 off 52 balls (nine fours, one six) ensured a comfortable seven-wicket win for the Blitzers. The 115-run chase was delivered without any major hiccups (20 balls to spare) with Usman spearheading the batting performance for his team.

Earlier, Marvels who lost opener Mayank Choudhry on the tournament’s very first ball, struggled to get going in their innings after being asked to bat first. Young all-rounder Aayan Afzal Khan top-scored with 24 runs while captain Basil Hameed scored 20. Uzair Khan and Muhammad Zubair took three wickets each as Marvels were bowled out for 114 in 18.1 overs.

Pearls recorded a 19-run win against the Dynamos in the second match on Saturday. Asked to bat first, the Pearls were well served by their opener Aryansh Sharma who scored a blazing 63 off 41 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes. All-rounder Zawar Farid (player of the match) had a memorable game as he first contributed 26 useful runs with the bat in a 42-run fifth-wicket partnership with Aryansh before taking four wickets with the ball.

Pearls posted a competitive 151 for eight total in their 20 overs.

Dynamos got off to a flying start but failed to maintain the momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals. Opener Samal Udawaththa top-scored with 28, and Muhammad Shahdad made a 23-run contribution. Zawar gave away a mere 20 runs in his 3.4 overs for his four wickets. Adhitya Shetty was also impressive with the ball – three for 27.

In the opening match on Sunday (the third match of the tournament), Asif Khan’s 87 not out (59 balls, six fours, six sixes) went in vain as the Thunderbolts powered through the 166-run chase for the loss of five wickets.

Braves who were asked to bat first posted a competitive 165-run total on the back of Asif’s blazing innings; the opener hit some lusty blows to propel his side past the 160-run mark. Junaid Shamzu smashed 31 off 10 balls (two fours, three sixes) in an unbroken 65-run alliance with Asif.

Thunderbolts chased down the runs courtesy of a smashing unbeaten 19-ball 45 by Ansh Tandon. The left-hander hit two fours and five sixes in his brilliant innings. Captain Rohan Mustafa scored 43 off 36 balls (six fours), and Thunderbolts completed the chase with three balls left. Haider Ali took two wickets.

Marvels registered their first win when they defeated Pearls by seven wickets in the second match on Sunday. Batting first, Marvels could only manage a paltry 121-run total. Player of the match Muhammad Zuhaib and Aayan Afzal Khan took four and three wickets respectively as Marvels struggled to get going.

The 122-run chase was duly completed by Marvels in 17.2 overs. Opener Mayank Choudhry top-scored with 47 off 49 balls (five fours, one six). Captain Rahul Chopra scored an unbeaten 31 off 23.

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Score Cards in Brief:

Match one – ILT20 Blitzers beat ILT20 Marvels by seven wickets

ILT20 Marvels 114 all out, 18.1 overs (Aayan Afzal Khan 24 not out, Basil Hameed 20; Uzair Khan 3-14, Muhammad Zubair 3-25).

ILT20 Blitzers 115 for 3, 16.4 overs (Usman Khan 68 not out, Ali Abid 18; Muhammad Zuhaib 1-18).

Match two – ILT20 Pearls beat ILT20 Dynamos by 19 runs

ILT20 Pearls 151 for 8, 20 overs (Aryansh Sharma 63, Zawar Farid 26; Sanchit Sharma 2-25, Vikum Sanjaya 2-35).

ILT20 Dynamos 132 all out, 19.4 overs (Samal Udawaththa 28, Muhammad Shahdad 23; Zawar Farid 4-20, Adhitya Shetty 3-27).

Match three – ILT20 Thunderbolts beat ILT20 Braves by five wickets

ILT20 Braves 165 for 4, 20 overs (Asif Khan 87 not out, Junaid Shamzu 31 not out; Shahbaz Ali 2-38).

ILT20 Thunderbolts 168 for 5, 19.3 overs (Ansh Tandon 45 not out, Rohan Mustafa 43; Haider Ali 2-31).

Match four – ILT20 Marvels beat ILT20 Pearls by seven wickets

ILT20 Pearls 121 all out, 18.2 overs (Lovepreet Singh 25, Aryansh Sharma 22, Khalid Shah 22; Muhammad Zuhaib 4-17, Aayan Afzal Khan 3-13).

ILT20 Marvels 122 for 3, 17.2 overs (Mayank Choudhry 47, Rahul Chopra 31 not out; Adhitya Shetty 1-16)

ILT20 Development Tournament Schedule (remaining games):

Thursday, 5 October – 4:30 pm: ILT20 Thunderbolts vs ILT20 Pearls and 8:30 pm ILT20 Braves vs ILT20 Marvels

Friday, 6 October – 4:30 pm: ILT20 Blitzers vs ILT20 Dynamos and 7:30 pm: ILT20 Marvels vs ILT20 Thunderbolts

Saturday, 7 October – 7:00 pm: ILT20 Blitzers vs ILT20 Braves

Sunday, 8 October – 4:30 pm ILT20 Thunderbolts vs ILT20 Dynamos and 8:30 pm ILT20 Braves vs ILT20 Pearls

Monday, 9 October – 4:30 pm Semi-Final (1) and 7:30 pm Semi-Final (2)

Tuesday, 10 October – 7:00 pm Final