Atlanta Kings Cruises to the Final of the NCL Sixty Strikes after a Convincing Victory over the Los Angeles Waves

Imran Tahir’s brilliant performance restricts LA Waves to 96, Tom Bruce takes his side to the final with four consecutive sixes

Imran Tahir celebrates after taking the wicket in the Qualifier 2 / NCL.

By Rifat Malik

The National Cricket League’s Sixty Strikes tournament finalists are confirmed, as Atlanta Kings overpower the LA Waves in an exciting second Qualifier. The Kings have shown incredible resilience by winning the Eliminator and now the Qualifier round to reach the final. They finished fourth in the group stage, but their subsequent victory over two strong teams has led them to this moment.

Of course, they have a lot of cricketing experience, including players like Sam Billings from England, Angelo Mathews from Sri Lanka, Imran Tahir from South Africa, and James Neesham from New Zealand.

On the other hand, LA Waves were excellent in the group stage, finishing second and having two chances to reach the final but they failed to capitalize and lost both the last stage matches. They lost to Chicago CC in the first Qualifier and now their loss to the Kings can be laid down to what is a pretty weak batting lineup. 

It was the departure of Aussie star Tim David that initiated the downfall of the batting order. However, they still had some big names on their score sheet, including Joe Burns and Tymal Mills from England, Rumman Raees from Pakistan, and Kiwi star Tod Astle.

Playing XI

Los Angeles Waves CC: Stevie Eskinazi (wk), Tymal Mills (C), Joe Burns, Majjid Zubair, Rishi Ramesh, Waqas Saleem, Pankaj Kamli, Rumman Raees, Todd Astle, Jagpreet Singh, Raymon Reifer

Atlanta Kings: Tom Moores (wk), Angelo Mathews (C), Sam Billings, Tom Bruce, James Neesham, Gajanand Singh, Danish Aziz, Imran Tahir, Saad Humayun, Ben Russell, Shubham Chopra.

Waves Weak Batting Lineup Exposed by Excellent Kings’ Bowlers

LA Waves had the worst possible start to their innings as Rishi Ramesh was sent back to the dugout by Danish Aziz, after scoring just 1 run off five deliveries. Raymon Reifer joined Eskinazi in the middle and made a quickfire 16 before being dismissed by Imran Tahir. Eskinazi and Joe Burns built a quality partnership, taking the team’s total to 74. However, some excellent death bowling by Ben Russell and Saad Hamayun made sure the Waves didn’t score big. In the end, they could only post a target of 97.

Magic by Tahir and Kings Bowlers

Imran Tahir was excellent once again, bringing all his maturity and experience to the stage at a time when it mattered most. His amazing bowling figures of 6/1 in the two overs set the tone for the rest of the bowling unit, paving the way to restrict Waves to 96. Gajanand Singh and Saad Hamayun were phenomenal as well, contributing to the Kings’ excellent bowling performance.

Slow and Steady Start by the Kings’ Openers

Singh (18) and Billings (12) made a slow and cautious start to the innings, making sure they provided a good platform for the batters to come.  Skipper Angelo Mathews came to the crease after the departure of Billings and scored 18 off 13 deliveries. Kiwi all-rounder, James Neesham, also contributed well with the bat, scoring 19 off just 9 deliveries.

Tom Bruce:  Unexpected Hero Kings Deserved

The situation seemed to change when Mathews was dismissed by Ramesh on the last ball of the 8th over. With 24 needed in the last two overs and all the star batters back in the dressing room, the Waves became hopeful about the team’s fortunes. However, Tom Bruce’s unbelievable striking quickly turned things around, hitting four consecutive sixes off the bowling of Jagpreet Singh. His unbelievable cameo finished the match 7 balls earlier, taking the Kings to the Final.

Good bowling Effort by Todd Astle and Ramesh

Astle has been the golden arm for the Waves, taking his side as far as 2nd position on the table. He was exceptional even in the losing cause, disappointed by his side’s weak performance with the bat. He gave away just 7 runs in his two overs, taking the match to the very end. Rishi Ramesh was exceptional as well, taking two wickets and giving away just 5 runs. However, it still wasn’t enough to take their side off the line.

Man of the Match

Tom Bruce proved to be the main difference between the two sides, finishing the match with a bang. His four consecutive sixes earned him the Man of the Match award.