MCL T20: Gemini Arabians edge into final

Dubai - Sehwag was at it again with a brutal and ruthless 83 from 50 balls with 12 boundaries and two sixes.

In the end, there was no stopping Virender Sehwag and his thoroughbred Gemini Arabians. A sixth win from as many games put them in the final of the Masters Champions League but not before going through some anxious moments.
The Sagittarius Strikers had taken them to the wire in their previous meeting and they did so again in this 'Dubai Duel in the Desert' at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night.
Opener Mahela Jayawardene (65) and then Phil Mustard (48 n.o) sparked life into a difficult chase but fell just short by 10 runs.
The Gemini Arabians will take on the winner of the second semifinal between the Leo Lions and the Virgo Super Kings.
Earlier, Gemini Arabians captain Virender Sehwag at it again with a brutal and ruthless 83 from 50 balls with 12 boundaries and two sixes.
And so was Kumar Sangakkara who cooked up a 62 from 43 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes as the Gemini Arabians racked up an imposing 191, a total befitting a semifinal.
The Gemini Arabians had for a while threatened to nudge past 200 and Sehwag, another 100, but West Indian pacer Tino Best put the skids on with twin wickets in an over, that of Brad Hodge and Sehwag.
Best then accounted for South African southpaw Jacques Rudolph to finish up with three for 24.
The Sagittarius Strikers did not have the ideal of starts with captain and opener Adam Gilchrist departing early, despite promising so much. The left-hander was castled by Graham Onions after striking twin fours in his eight-ball stay for 12.
Opener Mahela Jayawardene and Imran Farhat steadied things a bit before the latter was caught by Sehwag off pacer Kyle Mills.
Jonathan Trott and Yasir Hameed too left, leaving the Sagittarius Strikers in spot of bother at 96 for four.
But Jayawardene stood his ground along with Phil Mustard. The elegant right-hander still believed in the run chase and tried and made a fist of it with an impressive 65 before he was dismissed at a crucial juncture.
It all seemed lost after that until Phil Mustard breathed life into the chase again with some lusty hits all over the park as the Gemini Arabians bowling and fielding wilted under that onslaught.
The southpaw brought the equation down to 21 needed from the last over, with Daniel Vettori for company.
But it was not to be as the Gemini Arabians held their nerve to enter the final by a narrow margin. Mustard remained unbeaten on 48 from 18 balls with five sixes and two boundaries.
james@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai