Vancouver Kings take a massive stride into the semifinals, and they have earned every bit of this. Unfortunately for the Toronto Sixers, their campaign is over, but haven't they entertained us as well? We have three teams locked in for the semifinals and it all comes down to the final league stage match between Mississauga Masters and White Rock Warriors to decide the fourth semifinalist. Switch tabs quickly to catch updates of that match!
Well on that exciting note, we end our coverage of this fun encounter. I, Manan Mehta on behalf of my co-commentator Saptak Sanyal and our scorer/analyst Yogesh Kumar. ADIOS AMIGOS!
Dwaine Pretorius (Vancouver Kings Captain):"Great knock. We know he (Obus Pienaar) is dangerous but the last few games didn't go his way. Super happy for him. I think he middled the ball really well. Jassie (Jaskaran Singh Buttar) was great and it is a fine bowling performance. Looking forward to the semi-final day or a final day.
I want to appreciate management for picking a strong squad and I think my bowlers have done a great job by restricting them within 100. It is not easy when the boundary is short."
Dan Christian (Toronto Sixers): "Too few runs! We were 20-30 short. It was misbehaving to be fair. Not easy to go out there and strike from ball one.Obus Pienaar just played a blinder of an innings and took it away from us.
Oh, we have enjoyed our time here big time. The stadium is phenomenal with the roof on top. A lot of good cricket played!"
Jaskaran Singh Buttar (Player of the Match):"Definitely after four games actually, it is good to be on the other side. First two games were different. Wicket was changed after that. It is now a bit damp. Now it is more about the execution.
Right now, it is crucial to use the variations. We've been talking about not trying so much. Just be consistent and the little bit of variation can help."
Player of the Match: Jaskaran Singh Buttar
Time for the post-match presentations.
9:31 AM IST and 9:01 Local Time: Vancouver Kings are through to the semifinals and they have made a meal of the Toronto Sixers! They were phenomenal with the ball to start with. The likes of Baltej Singh and Mckenny Clarke set the tone up front with economical wicket taking overs!
However, they took full control when Jaskaran Singh Buttar stepped in with the ball! 3 wickets in his first over with the big wicket of Jason Roy in that! He ended with magical figures of 4-10 in 2 overs dismissing Dan Christian as his fourth wicket!
For the Sixers' batting it was only Jason Roy who got going with 30 off 16. Alex Hales unfortunately bagged a first ball duck and none of the batters really contributed! Some hits from Mark Watt and Dan Christian got them to 96 but that was 40 under par for sure.
They would have had to bowl their skins out to defend that. Daniel Sams and Mark Watt did start well with the ball for the Sixers as they had Vancouver for 23-2 at one point. However, once Obus Pienaar entered it was just one way traffic.
His 67 off 18 was a bullet for the Sixers and in just 6.5 the game was done and dusted. The Kings with this go top of the table and are guaranteed to play the first semifinal. Great for them as it gives them a breather before the final if they are to win it!