Chris Lynn hit a quickfire 69 off just 28 balls while Karthik Gattepalli bagged a three-for as Chicago CC beat Los Angeles Waves (LAW) by 15 runs in Qualifier 1 to reach the National Cricket League final on Saturday. Chasing 168 to win in Texas, LAW slumped to 152/6 in 10 overs as Gattepalli finished with impressive figures of 3/30. With a place in the final up for grabs, LAW won the toss and invited Chicago to bat. However, the decision to field first backfired. Lynn top-scored with a 28-ball 69, smashing seven fours and six sixes to lead the charge.

However, it was Chicago captain Robin Uthappa who gave his side a brisk start. The former India batter hit 31 off just 11 balls during the opening stand of 48 with Lynn.

Uthappa hit six boundaries, including three sixes before perishing in the 4th over. However, the dismissal didn’t stop Lynn from continuing the carnage in Texas.

Leonardo Julien joined Lynn in the middle and the two added 97 runs for the second wicket. Both Lynn and Julien were dismissed in the space of two runs, but the damage was already done.

Julien hit 33 off just 14 balls while Lynn ended up striking at 246.4 to finish on 69. Former Pakistan pacer Sohail Tanvir played an unbeaten cameo of 17 (4) to take Chicago’s total past the 160-run mark.

For LAW, Rishi Rames bagged a couple while Tim David and Tymal Mills also took a scalp each.

In response, LAW slumped to 40/3 inside the first three overs. Tim David (0) perished on the very first ball of the chase while Joe Burns and Stephen Eskinazi could only manage scores of 18 and 22 respectively.

Waqas Saleem (23) and Ramesh (39) brought LAW back in the contest after adding 63 for the fourth wicket. However, both were dismissed in the space of two balls.

Rumman Raees and Todd Astle hit unbeaten cameos of 26 and 19, respectively, but LAW fell short of the target by 15 runs in the end.

Gattepalli took three, while Simon Harmer and Tanvir picked two and one wickets respectively.

While Chicago entered the final of the tournament, LAW will have to play Qualifier 2 to set up a replay of Qualifier 1 in the summit clash.

Texas and Atalanta will square off in Eliminator, and the winner of the match will take on LAW for a place in the final.

National Cricket League: Robin Uthappa-led Chicago CC defeated Texas Gladiators by a huge 41-run margin in the NCL Sixty Strikes. Batting first, Chicago posted a total of 173/2 in 10 overs. In reply, Texas Gladiators could manage only 132.6 in 10 overs. The main architects of Chicago’s win were India star Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Michael Leask. Uthappa and Lynn gave Chicago a great opening stand that dented the Wahab Riyaz-led Gladiators hard. Both cricketer notched their half-centuries in style. 

While Uthappa scored 66 off 27 balls (7x6s, 5x4s), Lynn stayed unbeaten on 60 off 23 balls (7x6s, 3x4s). The two were involved in a 112-run stand before Uthappa was dismissed by Usman Rafiq in the seventh over. The carnage, however, did not stop despite Leonardo Julien falling for just 4 off Rafiq. Mikyle Louis joined the party and struck 34* off just 10 balls (4x6s, 2x4s). 

In reply, Texas Gladiators were given a decent start by Dawid Malan and Kennar Lewis. But Malan (35, 16b) got out to Simon Harmer while wicketkeeper-batter Kennar Lewis  (14, 6b) was dismissed by Sohail Tanvir. 

After that, Michael Leask unleased fury as he took four wickets for just 27 runs. His victims included Nick Kelly, James Fuller, Wahab Riaz and Usman Rafiq. He even completed a hat-trick. 

What is Sixty Strikes?

The National Cricket League (NCL) in the USA have organised a 10 overs-a-side tournament, as cricket continues its rapid growth in the country. The tournament, scheduled to run from October 4 to October 14, will feature some legends of the cricket world, both on the field and in the dugout.

The likes of Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan and Shahid Afridi are just some of the big names on the pitch, while Sir Vivian Richards, Wasim Akram and Sanath Jayasuriya are mentors of different teams.

Even Sachin Tendulkar – arguably the greatest batter in cricket history – is involved in the tournament, as part of the ownership group.

Raina smashed 53 off 28 balls, to lead New York Lions CC to a 19-run victory over Los Angeles Waves CC in their first game of the tournament.