Vanuatu T10 Blast | Mansale, Tsione go berserk as Bulls stun Panthers to keep final hopes alive
A breathtaking assault up the order from the duo of Andrew Mansale and Phillip Tsione saw the Bulls chase down 95 under seven overs to upset table-toppers ME Panthers. With the win, the Bulls, alongside keeping themselves alive in the tournament, also considerably boosted their Net Run Rate (NRR).
Brief scores : MT Bulls 100/1 off 6.5 overs (Mansale 43 and Rasu 1/35) beat Panthers 94/9 off 10.0 overs (Viraliuliu 22 and Mansale 2/18)
Viruliuliu, Markia and Allan propel Panthers to 94
On a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon with conditions looking perfect for batting, MT Bulls, in a must-win game, interestingly opted to bowl first despite having conceded over 100 in each of their last two clashes versus the Panthers. And the table-toppers’ talisman Joshua Rasu looked like he was in a mood to make the Bulls pay for calling it wrong at the toss, hitting a four and a six in his first four balls, but his innings was prematurely cut short on the last ball of the first over when he gloved one to the keeper; interestingly, he’d opted for a change of bat right before the ball was bowled. Rasu’s opening partner Lazaro Carlot followed suit in the very next over - his dismal form continued as he was sent back to the pavilion for a seven-ball duck, reducing the Panthers to 18-2. But as has been the case all tournament, the table-toppers decided to fight fire with fire in times of adversity and the plan worked like a charm for Panthers, who punched the Bulls back courtesy some brutal hitting from the bat of Wesley Viraliuliu and Jarryd Allan.
The duo added 28 runs off just 12 balls, before Allan, for the second game running, perished after a promising start. The dismissal of Mr.Reliable Simpson Obed, off the bowling of Nalisa in the sixth over, then left the Panthers in a slight spot of bother, but Viraliuliu released a second wave of aggression to keep the batting side in the drivers’ seat. The Bulls did eventually see the back of the destructive right-hander in the 8th over, thanks to a blinder of a catch at long-on from Patrick Matautaava, but Markia capitalized on the platform set by Viraliuliu, bringing up his highest individual score of the tournament, to propel the table toppers closer to the score they desired. A flurry of wickets ensuing towards the end meant that the Panthers ended their innings at 94-9, the first time all tournament that they’d fail to score over 100 versus the Bulls.
Tsione and Mansale help Bulls script remarkable win
Having won just one of their first four games, MT Bulls entered the chase versus the table-toppers knowing that they would have to bid goodbye to the tournament should they lose today. And after four games of unsuccessfully trying to sort out their batting order, the Men in Green, finally, found their magic mantra up the top of the order: promoting lower-order basher Phillip Tsione to the opening slot to open alongside skipper Andrew Mansale. The move, right from the word go, worked like a charm as the duo decided to take the Panthers bowlers on at all costs, showing utter disregard for the table-toppers’ achievements thus far in the competition. Remarkably, Mansale and Tsione’s conscious decision to throw caution out of the window paid rich dividends as the Panthers bowlers were left rocked by the Men in Green’s approach. The duo remarkably put on 84 runs in just 6 overs, hitting a total of 4 fours and 8 sixes between them, breaking the Panthers’ back.
Simpson Obed’s failure to strike up front meant that Mansale and Tsione exited the first three overs unscathed, and in the fourth over, they decided to teach medium-pacer Shem Sala a lesson, astonishingly scoring 25 runs to bring up the team’s fifty in just the fourth over. Mansale perished for 43 after he added 84 for the first wicket along with Tsione, but with just 11 runs needed to win, Clement Tommy walked in at No.3 and finished the job off in ruthless fashion, striking two sixes and a four off his first three balls to take his side home. Eventually, Tsione stayed unbeaten on 37* and the Bulls remarkably chased down the target in just 41 balls, staying alive in the competition.