Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) New South Wales Blues romped into the league stage with a 35-run win over Sussex Sharks in the Champions League Twenty20 Group B match at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Sunday.
The Blues are the second team after South Africa’s Cape Cobras (Group C) to enter the second round.

Opting to bat, Blues made 130 for two in 20 overs after Phil Hughes (62 not out) and Moises Henriques (51 not out) played sensible knocks on a slow track and added 90 runs for the third wicket.

Man of the Match Henriques churned out an all-round performance as he picked up three for 23 with his medium pacers and restricted Sussex to 95 for eight in 20 overs.

Blues’ fast bowling spearhead Brett Lee began the Sharks’ misery with the new ball as he bowled opener and stand-in-captain Ed Joyce - skipper Michael Yardley skipped the match due to illness - with the third ball of the innings.

Chrish Nash (24) and Rory Hamilton-Brown (13) gave a brief reprieve to the English side before the latter was stumped by Daniel Smith off Steven Smith.

The Sharks innings was constantly left wanting for partnerships as none of their batsmen was able to dig in heels.

Earlier, the Blues took time to adjust to the slow nature of the wicket before Hughes and Henriques anchored the innings beautifully.

The Blues, riding on a comprehensive 53-run win over South Africa’s Diamond Eagles in the first match, were slow to get off the blocks, with the left-handed opening pair of Hughes and David Warner (14) adding 35 runs in eight overs.

Warner was looking poised for a longer innings but found himself short of his crease with a direct throw from Dwayne Smith.

With Warner’s departure came Daniel Smith (2), sent ahead of skipper Simon Katich, but Indian leggie Piyush Chawla (1-21), introduced in the 9th over, got him caught by Robin Martin Jenkins. The Blues found themselves in a spot of bother as they were reduced to 40 for two, within five runs, in the ninth over.

But the arrival of 22-year-old Henriques livened up their batting and he with Hughes began to accelerate, bringing up 50 in the 10th over.

The two weaved 90 runs for the third wicket, with Hughes, who got a life in the 18th over when Joyce failed to cup an easy catch, hitting four fours and a six. Henriques’ blustery innings came off 33 balls and included three fours and two sixes.

The two were severe on Chawla, hitting him for a six each in the 11th over that cost 17 runs, forcing Joyce to remove the Indian.

The Sharks bowlers managed well in the last five overs to check the run flow and restricted Blues to a small total but it turned out to be too much for the English county team to match or overtake.