Texas Chargers 109 for 7 (Stevens 36, Sreesanth 4-12, Piedt 2-15) beat Morrisville Unity 75 for 8 (Shehan Jayasuriya 22, Hafeez 3-10, Tanvir 2-8, Edwards 2-10) by 34 runs
Chargers got off to a poor start as Sreesanth sent Hafeez and Mukhtar Ahmed packing in the second over. Unfazed by the early dismissals, captain Ben Dunk smashed Dane Piedt for a four and a six in the next over.
Dunk and Thisara Perera rotated strike consistently to keep the scoreboard ticking, before Piedt ended the 35-run third-wicket stand in the fifth over, Corey Anderson completing a brilliant catch diving forward to send back Thisara.
Dunk couldn’t hold the fort for much longer as a straighter delivery from Piedt rattled his stumps three balls later. Darren Stevens took matters into his own hands and increased the run rate with his attacking display. He hit Calvin Savage for a six and a four off consecutive deliveries in the seventh over before his partner Upul Tharanga slammed a six over long-on to complete the over.
The English all-rounder hit Najaf Shah for consecutive boundaries in the next over, with Tharanga adding a six in the final delivery. Sreesanth then hit back, dismissing both Stevens and Tharanga in the ninth over.
Unity were rocked early in their chase as Fidel Edwards had Parthiv Patel lbw with the first legal ball of the innings, after he had started with a wide. Hafeez then sent back Chris Gayle, having him caught and bowled in the third over.
Shehan Jayasuriya kept the Chargers in the chase by hitting Ehsan Adil for three fours and a six in the fourth over. However, Edwards ended his stay at the wicket with a surprise bouncer in the next over.
Hafeez struck two more times in the sixth to leave Unity 48 for 5, requiring 62 off the last 24 balls. Their task grew even more difficult when Tanvir dismissed Navin Stewart in a one-run seventh over.
With Corey Anderson struggling to get going, scoring at less than a run a ball, the chase fell apart. Anderson hit the last two balls of the match to the boundary to finish unbeaten on 16 off 17 balls.
California Knights 106 for 5 (Finch 24, Nurse 22, Jerome Taylor 2-20) beat New York Warriors 91 for 3 (Dilshan 43, Misbah 23, Bishoo 2-10) by 15 runs
Finch’s decision to bat paid off as Knights stitched together a total of above 100. The stand-in captain found the fence once in the first over and hit two boundaries in the second. He then hit Abdur Rehman for a six in the third before the Warriors left-arm spinner struck back to have Finch caught at long-on.
Jacques Kallis took the run-scoring baton after that, hitting Dhammika Prasad for a four and a six in the fourth over. However, Prasad had his revenge in his next over, when Kallis miscued an attempted big hit.
Dilshan and Misbah-ul-Haq kept their hopes alive, putting on 43 off 24 for the third wicket. Fortunes swung rapidly: Dilshan was run out in the penultimate over, only for Misbah to hit the next ball, a no-ball from Pawan Suyal, for six. It came down to 21 off six balls, and Pathan finished the game with an excellent last over, fiving away just five runs.
Atlanta Riders 101 for 5 (Masakadza 43, Hammad 38, Trego 2-29) beat New Jersey Triton’s 53 (Sunny 2-4, Emrit 2-6, Harmeet 2-9, Kamrul 2-20) by 48 runs
Masakadza began cautiously, scoring 8 off his first 10 balls, before launching Monty Panesar for a six in the fifth over. In the next over, Hammad hit Peter Trego for three consecutive sixes. He dealt similarly with Panesar in the seventh over, hitting him for two sixes in a row.
The duo kept finding the fence consistently in the last three overs, before Trego ended their scintillating partnership in the final over.
They were eventually bowled out for 53, their innings folding up in just nine overs.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo