Abbas lands a win for the Giants

Abbas took a liking for West Indian Tino Best8217;s pace to plunder 16 from his second over and then helped himself to share a 41-run stand with Avishka Gunawardne for the third wicket. Gunawardene8217;s dismissal in the ninth over slowed the things a little bit, and when Abhinav Bali dismissed Michael Kasprowicz in the tenth over, Delhi were tottering at 55 for 4. Then Abbas and Nic Pothas set about getting them back on the road with a 61-run partnership to win with ten balls left.

Earlier, young Ali Murtaza had a good day with the ball, picking up two wickets for 16 in his quota of four overs to restrict Mumbai Champs to 115 for 4. Foremost in the attack was Shane Bond for Delhi Giants but Champs8217; openers Saman Jayantha and Dheeraj Jadhav braved through the first six overs, conjuring up 41 runs for the first wicket before the collapse. It was left to skipper Astle, who managed two towering sixes in his 32 to bring Champs with a fighting chance in the game.

Brief scores: Mumbai Champs : 115 for 4 in 20 overs N Astle 32, D Yadav 27, A Murtaza 2/16; Delhi Giants : S Abbass Ali 64 n o, N Pothas 18 n o