Texas Gladiators beat Atlanta Kings in National Cricket League© X (Twitter)
Wahab Riaz and Nisarg Patel excelled with the ball while Dawid Malan produced another explosive knock as Texas Gladiators beat Atlanta Kings by 8 wickets in the National Cricket League on Saturday. Riaz, Patel and Jason Behrendorff took two wickets each as Atlanta Kings were bundled out for 61 in 8.4 overs. James Neesham was the top-scorer for Atlanta Kings with 12 and he was the only batter in the team to register a double-digit score. In reply, Texas Gladiators made short work of the target as they marched on to a victory with Malan playing a big role in chasing down the total in 8.3 overs.
Batting first, Atlanta Kings looked completely lost as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Texas Gladiators relied heavily on their bowlers and they made good on the trust as Atlanta Kings were all out for 61. Only Neesham could score in double digits as other big names failed to impress.
Ashmead Nedd, Usman Rafiq, James Fuller and Shahid Afridi all took one wicket each to put pressure on Atlanta Kings while the trio of Patel, Riaz and Behrendorff finished the game with their spells.
In reply, Dawid Malan slammed 29 off just 19 deliveries with the help of 4 fours and 1 six to guide Texas Gladiators to a comfortable victory. He received solid support from Nick Kelly who remained unbeaten on 16 off 16 deliveries with the help of a solitary boundary.
Texas Gladiators lost just two wickets with Angelo Mathews and Imran Tahir taking one apiece.