India-New Zealand decider a prelude to T10 tournament: Shaji

sharjah — The truncated T20 decider between India and New Zealand at Thiruvanthapuram produced 16 overs of nail biting tension and in many ways signposted the potential of the T10 format scheduled to make its debut at the Sharjah stadium on Dec 14 with six teams boasting some of the legendary names of cricket.

As a full stadium waited for the rain to abate the fans were truly rewarded. The eight overs apiece produced 128 runs and 11 wickets proving that under these limited over concepts there is ample scope for bowlers, batsmen and fielders to display prodigious talent. There is also as much scope for collapses, hat tricks and incredible feats of agility

The match kept millions of viewers glued to their seats, as there was action with every ball Shaji Ul Mulk

on the field. And the 90 minutes of high explosive sport echoes the sentiments of the T10 Chairman Shaji Ul Mulk, who couple of days earlier at the international players’ draft ceremony stated that this idea of bringing cricket into the framework of intense 90 minutes of action as is with other games was the motivation for going ahead with the initiative.

“The eight over game between India and New Zealand provided a perfect prelude to what the T10 format is all about. The match kept millions of viewers glued to their seats, as there was action with every ball. Even a damp, sticky wicket produced a thriller. Imagine what might happen on a flat wicket with over 120 runs scored in 10 overs,” commented Shaji Ul Mulk.

As teams begin to gel and players get to know each other and blend into a squad the competition will be stiff.

With heavy-hitters like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Alex Hales and Virender Sehwag confirmed not to mention bowlers including Mohammed Amir and Sunil Narine that week in December is going to be one to remember.