Akeal Hosein's sensational 5 for 6 in two overs dismantled Samp Army as New York Strikers posted a 41-run win in Qualifier 1 to storm into the Abu Dhabi T10 final at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Defending 121, the Strikers' left-arm spinner picked up a hat-trick in the first over of the innings, dismissing Andries Gous, Dewald Brevis and Ibrahim Zadran, to leave Samp Army reeling at 1 for 3.

In his second over, he removed the opposition captain Faf du Plessis and Najibullah Zadran in space of three balls to further rattle Samp Army.

Jason Holder's 22 of 11 and Qais Ahmad's unbeaten 31 off 13 at No.10 meant Samp Army huffed and puffed to 80 for 9.

Earlier, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz's blazing 56 off 28 set the tone for Strikers to post a competitive 121 for 5. His knock included four fours and five sixes.

In the end, Asif Ali smashed three fours in his unbeaten seven-ball knock of 17 to further lift Strikers.

Samp Army will have a second chance to make the final when they play the winner of the Eliminator between Bangla Tigers and Deccan Gladiators in Qualifier 2 later today.

At the time of publishing, the Tigers were 78-4 off seven overs batting first.

 

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