Abu Dhabi T10 League: 'Rested' Romario Shepherd forced to play against Chennai Braves after Delhi Bulls teamsheet blunder

The ongoing Abu Dhabi T10 League saw an interesting turn of events during a fixture between the Chennai Braves and Delhi Bulls on Sunday.

Bulls skipper Dwayne Bravo won the toss and opted to field first. The former West Indies all-rounder mentioned at the toss that Romario Shepherd was being rested and would be replaced by Dominic Drakes in the playing eleven.

However, in a bizarre turn of events, the team sheet had Shepherd's name instead of Drakes'.

The opposition realized it during the first over and turned down the request to make the swap.

Things got even more bizarre when Afghanistan seamer Gulbadin Naib was barred from bowling after he delivered consecutive beamers to Mark Deyal and Bhanuka Rajapaksa during the 6th over.

It was Shepherd who stepped in to complete the over, and he struck immediately as he dismissed a dangerous-looking Deyal on his second delivery. Deyal smashed three fours and a six during his 19-ball 29, and along with Rajapaksa, added 81 runs in just 5.4 overs.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa's blistering knock helps Chennai Braves post 124/2

Skipper Dasun Shanaka did not trouble the scoreboard thanks to Shiraz Ahmed, and all of a sudden, it looked like Delhi Bulls were pegging Braves’ back.

However, despite back-to-back blows, the Chennai Braves finished on a strong note thanks to the stylish Rajapaksa, who spearheaded the innings with a blistering 31-ball 64*.

Rajapaksa hammered six fours and four sixes during his unbeaten knock. He was well supported by former England all-rounder Ravi Bopara.

Bopara struck a six and a four during his unbeaten 11-ball 19 as the Braves finished at 124/2 after 10 overs.

At the time of writing, the Bulls’ had lost four wickets for 51 runs inside five overs. Former Indian seamer Munaf Patel gave dual bodyblows in the second over by dismissing Rillie Rossouw and Sherane Rutherford within a space of three deliveries.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (26 off 16) and Mohammad Hafeez (15 off 9) were looking in great touch during their short stay at the crease. However, Roman Walker sent both of them packing to bring Bravo and England skipper Eoin Morgan at the crease.