International 20:20, Grace Road

Leicestershire and Chilaw Marians reach semi-finals

Cricinfo staff

September 16, 2005

Leicestershire 172-6 (Maddy 42) beat Somerset 106-8 (Francis 49, Snape 2-12, Mongia 2-6) by 66 runs
Scorecard

Dinesh Mongia's innings of 39 and two cheap wickets earned him the Man-of-the-Match award against Somerset © Getty Images

Leicestershire's 66-run victory over Somerset booked them a place in tomorrow's finals day. Set 173 to win, Somerset failed to take the attack to Leicestershire's bowlers, and wickets continued to tumble. Only John Francis, with an innings of 49 from 44 balls, threatened to deny Leicestershire a victory; Jeremy Snape and Dinesh Mongia both bowled remarkably tidily, each picking up two wickets. Mongia's figures of 2 for 6 from four overs were particularly impressive. Leicestershire's innings was built around the top four batsman, with Darren Maddy hitting 42 from just 27 balls, and Mongia 39 from 23 balls; Mongia's innings, and his two cheap wickets, earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.

Chilaw Marians 179 (MMDNRG Perera 39) beat Titans 112 (Gunaratne 4-21) by 67 runs
Scorecard

Paul Harris took two wickets in consecutive balls for Titans, but Chilaw Marians knocked over their opponents for just 112 © Getty Images

Sri Lankan champions Chilaw Marians booked their place in the finals of the International 20:20 competition by cruising past Titans. Setting Titans 180 for victory, the South African side could only manage 112.

Janaka Gunaratne claimed 4 for 21 to polish up the Titans' lower order as they lost wickets at regular intervals in the run chase, while Dinuk Hettiarachchi claimed three victims to give the Marians a further boost.

The Marians had chosen a bold approach when batting first with Ishan Mutaliph blasting 32 as they raced along to 98 for 1 off eight overs. Nimesh Perara hammered eight fours in his 39 off 18 balls to give them further momentum, after Paul Harris had claimed two wickets with successive balls and come very close to claiming a hat-trick.

But Johann Myburgh three wickets for seven runs in his first two overs as the Marians' failed to bat out their full 20 overs. In the end, their total of 179 proved more than enough.

But it wasn't to prove costly as they came out on top, and will accompany the PCA Masters XI in Finals Day tomorrow.

Faisalabad Wolves 207 for 5 (Mohammad Hafeez 79) beat Somerset 177 (Blackwell 82) by 30 runs
Scorecard

Imran Khalid grabs the wicket of Arul Suppiah © Getty Images

After yesterday's near washout, the International 20:20 got underway today with Somerset against Faisalabad Wolves, and the Wolves eased through to victory by 30 runs. Mohammad Hafeez got proceedings off to an electric start, clobbering 79 from only 35 balls to give the Wolves early momentum. He then took three wickets in Somerset's reply in what was an excellent all-round effort.

Hafeez hammered six sixes and six fours in his explosive innings, four of his sixes coming off one over from Keith Parsons. The opener received good support from Asif Hussain, whose 30 from 32 balls was positively pedestrian in comparison to Hafeez's knock. The Wolves, who yesterday lost their opening game in a bowl-out against Leicestershire, needed a good score and a high run-rate in order to qualify for the finals, ending on 207 for 5 from their 20 overs.

Haveez was eventually out to Ian Blackwell, who trapped him leg before, but Ijaz Ahmed struck a quickfire 40 to see the Wolves past the 200 mark.

Somerset couldn't match the Wolves' run-rate, and lost crucial early wickets. Despite a predictably violent innings from Blackwell, the outcome of the match was never in doubt. He came to the crease in the second over of the innings, and smashed 12 fours and two sixes in his knock of 82 from just 48 deliveries. When he holed out to long off, it spelt the end of Somerset's hopes, although John Francis did strike a quick 41.

Hafeez was the chief destroyer for the Wolves, picking up 3 for 23 from 3.4 overs and deservedly collecting the Man-of-the-Match award.

© Cricinfo

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Stories

Bowl outs decide the day at rain-hit Leicester

Players/Umpires

Ian Blackwell

Janaka Gunaratne

Darren Maddy

Mohammad Hafeez

Dinesh Mongia

Jeremy Snape

Series/Tournaments

International 20:20 Club Championship

Teams

Chilaw Marians Cricket Club

Faisalabad

Leicestershire

Somerset

Titans