Dolphins crash to CLT20 defeat

Mohali - Mitchell Marsh kept his nerve by hitting two successive sixes off the final two deliveries to pull off a sensational six-wicket win for the Perth Scorchers against the Dolphins in their Champions League T20 match in Mohali on Saturday.

Robbie Frylinck (1-32) was on the receiving end of those two swashbuckling sixes by Marsh, who finished with an unbeaten 40 off 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes.

Kyle Abbott bowled superbly well throughout the match and took one for 25 off four overs.

Because of his splendid efforts, the Scorchers needed 16 runs to win it in the final over.

Ashton Agar was caught at short fine leg off the second ball of the 20th over by Craig Alexander off Frylinck.

When Ashton Turner took a single, it left the Scorchers with 12 required off two balls.

Frylinck had bowled extremely well to restrict Marsh until then, but bowled two low full-tosses to end the over, and the muscular Marsh dispatched both of them for sixes to send his teammates into delirium.

Earlier, the Dolphins won the toss and elected to bat.

The Dolphins were in early trouble as the left-arm fast bowler Joel Parris’s double-strike had them reeling on four for two.

Jason Behrendorff added two scalps to reduce the Dolphins to 46 for four, but Keshav Maharaj slammed 29 off 22 balls as the Dolphins were unfazed by the loss of wickets and kept on pounding the boundary ropes.

Even when they reached 97 for six after 14.1 overs, they kept attacking relentlessly.

Khaya Zondo slammed 63 off 50 balls with seven fours to lead the onslaught by the Dolphins in the final five overs, as the Dolphins added 52 runs.

Zondo positioned himself well deep in the crease, and generated amazing power to smash to all comers, despite his diminutive frame. He also rotated the strike expertly.

Abbott hit sixteen runs off five balls, including two sixes in the final over, to give the Dolphins a competitive total.

Craig Simmons had the Scorchers off to a solid if unspectacular start with 48 runs off 36 balls.

But the Dolphins lost their bowling shape in the middle overs as Daryn Smit was smashed for fifteen runs in his one over.

Morné van Wyk then used his fifth bowler Cameron Delport and the Scorchers moved to 116 for two after 15 overs.