THE CAYMAN ISLANDS: Gerhard Erasmus backed his 2/16 with an anchoring 27-run knock and powered Miami Lions to a thumping seven-wicket victory over Boca Raton Trailblazers in the 15th match of the Max60 Caribbean here on Thursday.
Put into bat first, the Trailblazers could accumulate 87/7 in the allotted 10 overs despite their skipper David Warner’s 40-run knock.
The left-handed batter waged a lone battle for the Trailblazers while wickets kept tumbling at the other end.
Warner carried his bat all the way till the penultimate over and returned as the top-scorer. His gutsy knock featured three fours and two sixes.
Besides him, only Jack Jarvis (12) contributed significantly while the rest of the Trailblazers’ batters failed to make it into the double figures.
Gerhard Erasmus and Sajad Ahmadzai bagged two wickets each for the Lions while Conroy Wright, Ravi Bopara and Ben Manenti shared three wickets between them.
Set to chase 88, the Lions amassed the target for the loss of three wickets and 12 balls to spare.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
The Lions, however, had a contrasting start to their pursuit as they lost Asghar Afghan on the first legal delivery of the innings with five runs on the board.
The early blow did not trouble the Lions much as Erasmus joined Jonathan Carter in the middle and they combined to forge a match-defining partnership.
The pair added 58 runs to the total inside five overs before Carter fell victim to Colin de Grandhome. The opening batter scored a 14-ball 21 with the help of two fours and a six.
Erasmus perished an over later, top-scoring for the Lions with a 20-ball 27, laced up with two fours and as many sixes.
Corey Anderson then did the final touches with a quickfire cameo. He smashed two fours and a six on his way to an 11-ball 21.
For the Trailblazers, Jarvis, Steven McGiffin and de Grandhomme made one scalp each.
The seven-wicket victory lifted Miami Lions to the fifth in the Max60 Caribbean standings with four points in seven matches while Boca Raton Trailblazers succumbed to the bottom with three points in five matches.
READ: Pakistan bags two gold medals as Asian MMA Championship concludes