Blitzers, Pearls, Thunderbolts and Marvels register wins in ILT20 Development Tournament's opening weekend
Six tournament squads finalised through a Player Draft, ILT20 Blitzers, ILT20 Braves, ILT20 Dynamos, ILT20 Marvels, ILT20 Pearls and ILT20 Thunderbolts competing in the 18-match tournament.
Preparations for a blockbuster DP World ILT20 Season 2 in full swing following the big success of DP World ILT20 Season 1 which established the league as the second most watched cricket league in India, a total of 367 million views gathered from around the world.
ILT20 Development Tournament scores and stats available here tournament photos available here
Dubai, 2 October 2023: 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 potentially life changing opportunity to UAE players with 13 spots for UAE players still up for grabs in the DP World ILT20 Season 2.
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, 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 (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 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), Thunderbolts completed the chase with three balls left. Haider Ali took two wickets.
Marvels registered their first win when the 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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