Abu Dhabi T10: Waseem's half-century helps Northern Warriors thrash Pune Devils

Abu Dhabi [UAE], February 4 : Northern Warriors' in-form UAE domestic cricketer Waseem Muhammad once again stole the show through a whirlwind unbeaten 56 runs off 13 balls to overpower Pune Devils by eight wickets in the third match on the third day of the Super League in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament.
Waseem equalled the T10 record for the fastest half-century in 12 balls which was set by Chris Gayle in the second match of the day and by Mohammad Shahzad for Rajputs in the 2018 edition. Waseem hit seven towering sixes and three boundaries. He hammered the attack so mercilessly that Warriors raced to the target with 33 balls to spare.
Pune was restricted to 97 for 8 through another deadly spell from Wayne Parnell. He bagged three wickets for just five runs backed by Wahab Riaz with two wickets for 20 runs.
Earlier, Northern Warriors won the toss and put Pune into bat. They destroyed Pune's top order after Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit Wahab Riaz for four boundaries in the first over and picked 16 runs. In the second over Cadmore hit two boundaries off Junaid Siddique. But from the third over, wickets began to fall.
The first to go was Cadmore, who was caught by Waseem Muhammad at mid-off for 20. Two balls later, Chadwick Walton hit Riaz straight to Lendl Simmons at mid-wicket for a duck. In the third over Kennar Lewis hit Fabian Allen for three consecutive sixes but fell to the last ball of that over. He was caught behind by Nicholas Pooran for 24. Next man Devon Thomas was bowled by Rayad Emrit for a duck. By the halfway mark, Pune was struggling at 65 for 4.
Wayne Parnell, who bowled the sixth over, had UAE's Vriitya Aravind caught at extra cover for 1. Parnell also clean bowled Alex Davies for 16. Six wickets down for 66 in 5.4 overs, Nasir Hossain hit Siddique for a boundary and a six in the eighth over to take 13 runs off the over.
Warriors, wanting to give away nothing, introduced Parnell again in the ninth over. He clean bowled Karan for 3. Hitting two consecutive boundaries off the tenth over from Waheed Ahmed, Hossain ensured Pune a total that was three runs short of the 100 run mark.
Warriors' in-form opener Waseem Muhammad picked a boundary off the third ball of the first over from Munis Ansari to launch his onslaught. He followed it up with a straight six to take 17 runs off the first over. Waseem hit left-arm spinner Monir Hossain's first delivery of the second over for a six. He also hit the third and fourth deliveries for sixes and steered the fifth ball for another boundary. He then lifted the last ball for a six to take 35 runs off the over. The half-century partnership came in just two overs with Waseem on 49 off 11 balls.
Opener Brandon King, who got just one run in the partnership, hit Karan for three boundaries and a six in the third over to take 19 runs off that over.
Yorkshire's 19-year-old left-arm spinner Sam Wisniewski had King stumped with his first delivery. Pooran hit the first delivery he faced for a six. While trying to hit another six, he was caught at long-off to the third ball. Waseem then hit Sam for a six over long-on.
Rovman Powell lifted his team to the target with two successive sixes and win the match in 4.3 overs and remain unbeaten on 14.

Brief scores: Pune Devils 97/8 (Tom Kohler- Cadmore 20, Kennar Lewis 24, Wayne Parnell 3-5); Northern Warriors 98/2 (Brandon King 20, Waseem Muhammad 56*, Sam Wisniewski 2-14).