At Martin Guptill Oval, Auckland: Auckland Aces 192/6 off 20 overs (Martin Guptill 85* off 52, Finn Allen 50 off 24; Ben Sears 2-32 off 3) beat the Wellington Firebirds 139 all out off 18.3 overs (Muhammad Abbas 32 off 38, Nathan Smith 25 off 15; Ben Lister 4-26 off 3.3, Danru Ferns 3-26 off 4, Louis Delport 3-27 off 4) by 53 runs. Click on right here for full scoreboard.
Martin Guptill made Martin Guptill Oval his personal in each manner because the Auckland Aces beat the Wellington Firebirds within the males’s Tremendous Smash T20 competitors on Thursday.
Guptill batted all through the Aces’ innings, scoring an unbeaten 85 off 52 balls as Auckland posted 192-6, which was 53 runs too many for the Firebirds who had been bowled out for 139 in 18.3 overs in reply.
Shane Wenzlick/Photosport
A guard of honour greeted Martin Guptill and his household earlier than the testimonial match.
Eden Park’s outer oval had been renamed Martin Guptill Oval for the day in celebration of the previous Black Caps star’s contribution to Auckland cricket.
Followers turned out to the ‘testimonial’ match in power, and Guptill rose to the event by anchoring Auckland’s innings for the primary 15 overs, then unleashing his energy within the ultimate 5 overs to make sure Auckland posted a profitable rating.
After citing his 50 on the finish of the fifteenth over, off 40 balls, he took to the Firebirds assault with a barrage of sixes – he had six in all, together with 5 fours.
Shane Wenzlick/Photosport
Martin Guptill hit an unbeaten 85 for the Aces.
His solely help of substance was on the high of the innings, with Finn Allen getting the hosts off to a flyer in scoring 50 off simply 24 balls, together with 4 sixes of his personal.
The Firebirds received again into the sport by taking three wickets for 2 runs simply after the midway mark, however regardless of shedding companions on the different finish at common intervals Guptill received the Aces as much as an above-par complete.
The Aces snared 4 wickets within the first half of Wellington’s chase, and at 71-4 after 10 overs the competitors leaders wanted a giant innings from somebody to get shut.
It didn’t come, as left-armer spinner Louis Delport (3-27) and opening bowlers Danru Ferns (3-26) and Ben Lister (4-26) had been notably spectacular for Auckland claiming all 10 wickets between them.
Greatest with the bat
No surprises right here. Whereas it appeared prefer it may very well be Finn Allen’s day as he scorched to 50, Guptill held the innings collectively and completed it off beautifully in a superb, nicely paced knock that was simply what his workforce wanted.
Greatest with the ball
Louis Delport bowled tidily and was rewarded with three top-order wickets, in addition to offering loads of leisure together with his wicket celebrations.
The massive image
The Firebirds stay on high of the Tremendous Smash desk regardless of the loss, however the Aces leapfrog the Canterbury Kings into second spot.
