Tuffey leads Lions to victory

Amid the beats of the dhol, a new era in Indian cricket started today evening here, as Abid Nabi bowled the first ball of opening match of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) between Chandigarh Lions and Delhi Jets at the Sector-3 Cricket Stadium. And the capacity crowd was treated to a home victory of sorts, as Chandigarh Lions romped to a nine-run victory over Delhi Jets. Lions opener Imran Farhat started the early fireworks, after being put into bat.

And later, former New Zealand star Daryl Tuffey’s three-wicket haul helped Chandigarh Lions’ cause. Tuffey earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his three-wicket haul. Put into bat, Chris Cairns-led Chandigarh Lions were all out for 134 in 20 overs. In reply, Delhi Jets, captained by Marvan Atapattu, could reach only 126 for six wickets in 20 overs.

Imran Farhat (21) and Hamish Marshall (23) gave a solid start to the Lions, while skipper Cairns (22) also scored briskly and hit two soaring sixes. Former South African all-rounder Andrew Hall steadied the innings with an unbeaten 31. In reply, Jets suffered an early blow when opener Taufeeq Umar was bowled out by Hall after scoring just two runs. Atapattu (29) looked steady, but once Tuffey snared him, it was a difficult ask for the rest of the team.

Brief scores: Chandigarh Lions 134 (Andrew Hall not out 31; Ali Murtaza 3/16, Abhishek Sharma 3/16) v Delhi Jets 126/6 (M Atapattu 29; S Abbas Ali not out 30; D Tuffey 3/16). Saturday’s matches: Mumbai Champs v Hyderabad Heroes. Chennai Superstars v Kolkata Tigers.