Nashua Dolphins vs. Perth Scorchers, CLT20: Highlights, Scorecard and Report
Perth Scorchers (165/4) left it to the very last ball to beat Nashua Dolphins (164/7) by six wickets on Saturday, getting their Twenty20 Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
Needing 12 runs from the final two deliveries, Mitchell Marsh stepped up in a big way, blasting two sixes to hand his team the win.
Nashua won the toss and elected to bat, sending out Morne van Wyk and Cameron Delport to open proceedings. The South Africans' innings couldn't have gotten off to a worse start, as Van Wyk was dismissed fourth ball and Cody Chetty's wicket was taken on his very first delivery.
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| Morne van Wyk | b Joel Paris | 4 | 4 | 100.00 | 1 | 0 |
| Cameron Delport | c Sam Whiteman b Jason Behrendorff | 8 | 3 | 266.66 | 0 | 1 |
| Cody Chetty | b Joel Paris | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Keshav Maharaj | c Joel Paris b Jason Behrendorff | 29 | 22 | 131.81 | 5 | 1 |
| Khayelihle Zondo | NOT OUT | 63 | 50 | 126.00 | 7 | 0 |
| Daryn Smit | lbw Yasir Arafat | 21 | 14 | 150.00 | 2 | 1 |
| Vaughn van Jaarsveld | c Joel Paris b Jason Behrendorff | 7 | 10 | 70.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Andile Phehlukwayo | b Yasir Arafat | 14 | 11 | 127.27 | 1 | 0 |
| Robert Frylinck | NOT OUT | 15 | 6 | 250.00 | 0 | 2 |
| EXTRAS | (nb 1, w 1, lb 1) | 3 | ||||
| TOTAL | (7 wickets; 20 overs) | 164 | ||||
| Joel Paris | 4 | 21 | 2 | 5.25 | 11 | |
| Jason Behrendorff | 4 | 46 | 3 | 11.50 | 7 | |
| Yasir Arafat | 4 | 42 | 2 | 10.50 | 8 | |
| Mitchell Marsh | 3 | 21 | 0 | 7.00 | 5 | |
| Ashton Agar | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | 2 |
Delport didn't fare much better, scoring just eight runs from three balls. Twenty-one-year-old Joel Paris looked phenomenal early for Perth, something Cricket Country's Varun Arora also saw:
Paris would end up conceding just 21 runs in four overs with two wickets, good for an economy rate of 5.25.
The early overs were a disaster for Dolphins, but they soon established a good rhythm in the middle and later overs. The batter-friendly pitch in Mohali certainly helped, with Keshav Maharaj scoring 29 runs in 22 balls and Khaya Zondo adding 63 in 50.
For all of Paris' brilliance, Scorchers' other bowlers struggled mightily after their great play in the early overs. Jason Behrendorff and Yasir Arafat combined for eight overs, surrendering 88 runs in total. Innocent Bystander liked their full-toss approach, although it did leave the Aussies with a considerable target of 165:
Perth's opening batsman Craig Simmons put in a strong shift with 48 runs from 36 balls. He managed to find the boundary seven times. In similar fashion to Nashua, the Australians started rather slowly before pushing the pace in the middle overs.
| Craig Simmons | c & b Cameron Delport | 48 | 36 | 133.33 | 5 | 2 |
| Adam Voges | lbw Kyle Abbott | 7 | 13 | 53.84 | 1 | 0 |
| Sam Whiteman | c Daryn Smit b Craig Alexander | 45 | 32 | 140.62 | 6 | 1 |
| Mitchell Marsh | NOT OUT | 40 | 26 | 153.84 | 3 | 2 |
| Ashton Agar | c Craig Alexander b Robert Frylinck | 15 | 11 | 136.36 | 2 | 0 |
| Ashton Turner | NOT OUT | 3 | 2 | 150.00 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTRAS | (w 6, lb 1) | 7 | ||||
| TOTAL | (4 wickets; 20 overs) | 165 | ||||
| Kyle Abbott | 4 | 25 | 1 | 6.25 | 11 | |
| Craig Alexander | 4 | 31 | 1 | 7.75 | 9 | |
| Robert Frylinck | 4 | 32 | 1 | 8.00 | 10 | |
| Keshav Maharaj | 3 | 25 | 0 | 8.33 | 5 | |
| Cameron Delport | 4 | 36 | 1 | 9.00 | 8 | |
| Daryn Smit | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15.00 | 0 |
Sam Whiteman supplied Scorchers with 45 runs from 32 balls before being caught by Daryn Smit, setting up a frantic finish. As shared by Bleacher Report's Freddie Wilde, the presence of Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Lahore Lions in Group A made this a must-win match for both squads:
Kyle Abbott and Robbie Frylinck faced off against Marsh and Ashton Agar in the final four overs, and the Nashua bowlers defended their lead expertly to upset the favoured Scorchers.
Wilde loved the decision to send out Abbott in the 19th over:
Needing 12 more runs from two balls, Scorchers' situation seemed hopeless. Frylinck had bowled a solid final over, but two full tosses gave the Aussies a chance. Via Wilde, this was the clincher:
Whiteman told ESPN Cricinfo he was nervous, although he trusted Marsh to get the job done, saying: "Unncessary risk to get out. Was nervous sitting in the dug out, But with Mitch in the crease, we knew he could get it. He's pretty pumped up, saw him hit Dale Steyn for a few sixes so we knew he could do it."
The man himself said he was happy to be in the match for the final overs: "My partner was saying clear your head and swing hard. Lost for words. They hit their yorkers really well, could have gone either way, we were lucking enough to win. Usually I'm not in for the last two balls, so glad I was there at the end."
Perth needed a lot of luck to get past Dolphins, and they'll have to significantly improve on every level to be competitive when they face Kolkata and Chennai. For Nashua, the T20 CL already appears to be over, barring several miracles.
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