Finland v Isle of Man at Corfu – European Championship Division Two Twenty20 (Group B) – Match Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Finland-c2898’s Madhu Bhandari claimed a 4-wicket haul to restrict Isle of Man to a low total and enable his side to clinch a 6-wicket victory in their Group B match at the Ropa Valley No 1 Ground, played during the ongoing European Championship Division Two Twenty20 in Corfu on September 6.
Finland won the toss, and chose to field first – a decision which was justified by the performances of Bhandari (4-0-12-4) and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Obaidullah-c80124 Sadiqui (4-1-11-3), as they kept the Isle of Man batsmen at bay.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Stuart-Clark-c2591 intervened to dismiss Max Stokoe while Bhandari claimed Morris for his first victim.
Alex Stokoe (12) and Philip Littlejohns (11) were next up to bat, and joined forces for a 23-run 3rd-wicket stand which got the team up to 37 before Littlejohns was bowled by Obaidullah Sadiqui.
The remainder of the middle order managed mediocre outings, with not a single batsman rising above a single-digit score save a surprise 21-run contribution from 10 deliveries by lower order batsman Gareth Roome. By the final over, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Isle-of-Man-c41000 were all out for a meagre 82.
The 83-run chase hardly posed any difficulties for Finland, as they breezed to 84 by the 17th over, with only 4 wickets down, despite a valiant effort from Arnie http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Graham-Robert-Cowdrey-c60631 den Berg (4-0-14-2).
The top four batsmen - Zahidullah http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bilal-Khan-c48088 (35*) – a 52*-run 5th-wicket stand – which enabled the team to reach 84, with 6 wickets and 18 deliveries remaining.
However, despite the defeat, Isle of Man have managed to secure a place in the tournament Semi-Final against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Israel-c2925 on September 7 at the Marina Ground, while Finland will be battling it out with Portugal in the 5th Place Play-Off Semi-Final on the same date, at the Ropa Valley No 1 Ground in Corfu.
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