ILT20 Development 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Braves vs Marvels, Match 10

An exciting double-header in the ongoing ILT20 Development League got underway at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Thursday, October 5. Thunderbolts and Pearls faced off at 6 PM IST whereas Braves and Marvles clashed later in the day at 10 PM IST.

Pearls put up a dominant all-round effort with the bat and ball. Their bowlers bowled tight lines to restrict Thunderbolts to just 141. Later in the second innings, Pearls chased down the target effortlessly within 19 overs by losing just two wickets. In the second fixture, the Braves posted a tricky target of 172 for the Marvels to chase. The target proved beyond the reach of Marvels as they fell 17 runs short of their desired target.

Following the conclusion of both fixtures, Pearls have surged to the top with an NRR of 0.146. The team has accumulated 3 wins in their last 4 games played so far. Blitzers slip to the second position sitting with a healthy NRR of 1.229. They have so far registered 2 wins out of 3 games

Braves have now moved to the third spot and have bettered their NRR to 0.889. They have secured 2 wins in 3 games.

Marvels and Thunderbolts rank fourth and fifth respectively and have a negative NRR rating of -0.141 and -0.893 respectively. Whereas, Dynamos are yet to break their losing streak and remain winless in the tournament so far. They have so far suffered three back-to-back defeats on the trot.

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Pearls & Blitzers register clinical victories to march ahead in the points table

The first match of the day featured the clash between Thunderbolts and Pearls. The Thunderbolts made a very jittery start with the bat. Sandeep Singh and Saad Ali Refai fell early for paltry scores of one and four, leaving Thunderbolts reeling at 25-2 in 5.2 overs. Dawood Ejaz and the skipper Rohan Mustafa staged a modest recovery notching up decent scores of 39 (31) and 16 (21) to steady the ship for Thunderbolts.

However, they once again faltered during the halfway stage of the innings and lost wickets in cluster which significantly hampered their momentum. However, a gutsy knock of 32 (12) by Hazrat Luqman ensured that Thunderbolts had a reasonable target to defend.

Nilansh Keswani and Mohammed Faraazuddin were the pick of bowlers for Pearls as they accounted for half the Thunderbolts' dismissals. They were economical and struck at vital times to prevent the Thunderbolts from teeing off.

In response, Pearls received a massive jolt early on as they lost their opener Ansh Tandon for a duck. However, the team quickly recovered from that blow as Khalid Shah played a delightful cameo of 50 (31) which put the Pearls in a very dominating position during the halfway mark. He was eventually dismissed by Rohan Mustafa during the 8th over.

However, Alishan Sharafu and Lovepreet Singh did not let the Thunderbolts bowlers get off the hook. The duo was relentless in their attack and punished the Thunderbolts bowlers mercilessly. They put on an unbeaten 76-run stand for the 3rd wicket to steer their side comfortably over the line with 8 wickets to spare. Rohan Mustafa emerged as the sole wicket-taker for the Thunderbolts who claimed two wickets in that match.

The second match of the day kicked off between the Braves and Marvels. Asif Khan and Hamdan Tahir set the tone for the Braves by registering a compact 52 runs opening stand. However, Aayan Khan and Muhammad Zuhaib did not allow their menacing partnership to flourish and struck with two quick wickets to push the Braves onto the backfoot.

These dismissals brought Raees Ahmed-II and Muhammad Usman at the crease, who scored at a steady rate to take the Braves over the 100-run mark by the end of the 12th over. Muhammad Zahid came into the attack to pick up two consecutive wickets of Usman and Rizwan which pushed the Braves in a spot of bother.

As the middle order started to crumble, Junaid Shamsuddin and Hafiz Almas put up a 25+ run stand at the backend of the innings to ensure a strong finish for the Braves. In reply, the top three Marvel batters got starts but were unable to convert them into big scores. Besides, the loss of four wickets inside the first eight overs severely jeopardized their chances of chasing the target successfully.

However, Rahul Chopra played a match-defining knock of 72 (39) to add life to the Marvels' chase. Syed Wasi Shah also played a decent hand of 30 (27) which effectively got them close to the required target. However, following the dismissals of these batters, there was no recognized batting pair to follow and as Marvels finished their innings with a score of 156-7.