Ben Dunk and Aiden Blizzard, who have never played for Australia, helped Hobart Hurricanes record a six-wicket win over Cape Cobras with their stunning batting to keep their team’s hopes alive in the Oppo Champions League T20 cricket championship at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.
Chasing what looked a challenging score of 184, Hurricanes seemed to be in a real hurry scoring the first 50 in just 4.1 overs, thanks to some lusty hitting by opener and southpaw Ben Dunk (54, 35b, 10x4).
Cobras came back into the game through a fine effort by off-break bowler Sybrand Engelbrecht, who was no doubt helped by some reckless shots by Dunk and Shoaib Malik.
But to Cobras’ dismay, another southpaw Blizzard (78 not out, 48 balls, 3x4, 5x6) took charge, coming up with some stunning strokes.
He was lucky to be caught off a no-ball when on 50 off the bowling of Philander. But, importantly, he stayed till the end even as the bowlers wilted in the slog overs. As many as 45 runs were scored in the last two overs.
Fitting finale
And, it was a fitting finale for Hurricanes when Blizzard swung one over the ropes off Langeveldt to script a creditable win.
Earlier, the big-hitting opener Richard Levi reminded of his T20 reputation with some clean hitting and helped Cobras post a challenging 184 for six in its 20 overs.
Later on, it was the unbroken 52-run stand for the sixth wicket off just 24 balls between Robin Peterson and Vernon Philander that propped up Cobras total.
Scoreboard
Cape Cobras : Richard Levi c Mennie b Laughlin 42 (30b, 6x4, 1x6), Hashim Amla b Hilfenhaus 8 (6b, 2x4), Omphile Ramela b Bollinger 21 (11b, 1x4, 2x6), Dane Vilas b Hilfenhaus 25 (22b, 1x4, 1x6), Justin Ontong b Mennie 10 (8b, 1x4), Sybrand Engelbrecht c Paine b Laughlin 12 (15b, 1x4), Robin Peterson (not out) 25 (14b, 2x4, 1x6), Vernon Philander (not out) 32 (14b, 5x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-1, w-8): 9; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 184.
Fall of wickets : 1-12 (Amla), 2-39 (Ramela), 3-87 (Levi), 4-106 (Ontong), 5-119 (Vilas), 6-132 (Engelbrecht).
Hobart Hurricanes bowling : Doug Bollinger 4-0-39-1, Ben Hilfenhaus 4-0-49-2, Xavier Doherty 4-0-29-0, Jose Mennie 2-0-20-1, Ben Laughlin 4-0-31-2, Shoaib Malik 2-0-15-0.
Hobart Hurricanes : Ben Dunk c Ontong b Engelbrecht 54 (35b, 10x4),Tim Paine b Langeveldt 7 (10b, 1x4), Aiden Blizzard (not out) 78 (48b, 3x4, 5x6), Shoaib Malik c Philander b Engelbrecht 8 (7b, 1x4), Travis Birt c Ramela b Engelbrecht 7 (6b, 1x4), Jonathan Wells (not out) 17 (10b, 1x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-3, nb-2, w-10) 15; Total (for four wkts. in 19 overs) 186.
Fall of wickets : 1-51 (Paine), 2-91 (Dunk), 3-109 (Malik), 4-121 (Birt).
Cape Cobras bowling : Dane Piedt 1.5-0-13-0, Charles Langeveldt 4-0-43-1, Vernon Philander 3-0-42-0, Robin Peterson 3-0-37-0, Hashim Amla 0.1-0-1-0, Aviwe Mgijima 1-0-13-0, Sybrand Engelbrecht 2-0-20-3, Justin Ontong 2-0-14-0.
Toss : Cape Cobras.
