Top five bowling performances from the Betbarter Vanuatu T10 Blast
Top bowling performances from the Vanuatu T10 Blast
|The Betbarter Vanuatu Blast might have been a 10-over competition favoured to suit the batsmen, but boy it did feature a lot of top quality, world-class bowling from bowlers from all three sides. Today, we, here at SportsCafe, list out the top five bowling performances from the tournament.
#5 - Nalin Nipiko 2/9 versus ME Panthers
The figures 2/9 might look a bit underwhelming, but given the circumstances under which the spell was bowled - the final of the tournament - it could easily be equated to a five-wicket haul. Defending 86 against a team that they had never beaten all tournament, Ifira Sharks needed an inspiring performance and they got it in the form of their skipper Nalin Nipiko. Taking the new ball, Nipiko first removed danger man Rasu and then came back at the death and remarkably conceded just one run off the penultimate over of the game to bowl his side to victory. It was literally a tournament-winning spell.
#4 Andrew Mansale 4/24 vs Ifira Sharks
Andrew Mansale, prior to matchday 2, was already holding the record for the highest individual score and against the Sharks on May 30, the all-rounder also took home the ‘best bowling figures’ record. Despite himself and his teammates not being able to contain a rampant Nipiko, Mansale foxed the rest of the batsmen with his enticing flight and scalped four wickets on the day to keep the Sharks total in check. A 78* from Nipiko in that very innings meant that Mansale lost out on the ‘highest individual total’ record, but him finishing with 4/24 meant that he instead compensated for it by walking away with the best bowling figures of the tournament.
#3 - Stephane Sandy 3/1 vs MT Bulls
Three wickets for one run is the kind of spell that you would very rarely hear about in limited-overs cricket, but Stephane Sandy managed to script these remarkable figures against the Bulls on Matchday 2. The beauty of Sandy’s spell was not the fact that he managed to pick three wickets whilst just conceding a single run, but rather, it was the fact that he did so in just one over. Bowling the final over of the innings, defending 15 runs, the off-spinner scalped the wickets of Rival Samson, Nono Chilia, and Darren Wotu in the first five balls to instantaneously shut down the hopes of the Bulls. The Sharks were under threat for quite a while in the chase, but Sandy’s spell ensured that they won the game by a 13-run margin.
#2 - Joshua Rasu 3/7 vs Ifira Sharks
Joshua Rasu missed out with the bat on matchday 2 against Ifira Sharks, but made up for it with an outrageous effort with the ball. Defending 100, Rasu ran through the middle-order of the Sharks after Nalin Nipiko and Bethan Moli had given the Blues a brisk start. Rasu, in his spell, accounted for the wickets of Jamal Vira, Apolinaire Stephen and Niko Unavalu in back-to-back balls to claim the first and only hat-trick of the Betbarter Vanuatu T10 Blast. Eventually, his sublime effort with the ball saw the Panthers beat the Sharks by a convincing 30-run margin.
#1 - Simpson Obed 3/9 vs Ifira Sharks
Ifira Sharks might have ended the tournament as champions, but the Blues were handed an embarrassment of the highest order by ME Panthers on the very first day of the tournament. The Nalin Nipiko-led side were bowled out for a paltry 35 in their very first match and the embarrassment was handed to them courtesy a flawless spell up front by Simpson Obed. Taking the new ball, Obed sent the trio of Nipiko, Yamak and Moli packing inside the first three overs and carved the Sharks batting open with his impeccable display of bowling. By the time Obed bowled his last ball, the Sharks were reduced to 17/5, and equally able spells from Tony Tamata and Joshua Rasu saw the Panthers bowling their Blue counterparts out for just 35 runs.
