Story CSL: It's time for trades

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Cricket Super League, Round 2 Match 10
Northeastern Conference
Detroit Kings vs Milwaukee Lions
Detroit
Prematch Table Placings: Detroit 6th on 0 points, Milwaukee 2nd on 2 points

Toss: Milwaukee won and chose to bowl



Some tight bowling from Mujeeb and Hasan Ali helped Milwaukee restrict the Kings to a chaseable total.



And despite a late collapse, they get home. Who knows what would have happened without a tournament-best innings by Usman Khawaja.

DET 4/150 (20)
MIL 8/151 (19.1)
MOTM: Usman Khawaja (83)

Table update: Milwaukee to 1st on 4 points, Detroit remain 6th on 0 points.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 2 Match 11
Northeastern Conference
Minnesota Vultures vs Philadelphia Spartans
Minnesota
Prematch Table Placings: Minnesta 4th on 0 points, Philadelphia 5th on 0 points

Toss: Philly won and chose to bat.



Oh dear. Destructive bowling from Shaheen left Philly 6/37, and they never recovered.



Hashal Patel clearly believed the game was still winnable, reducing Minnesota to 5/33. However, Babar Azam stabilised the situation while Beau Webster took the spinners on, and the chase was completed easily.

PHI 84 (18.1)
MIN 5/88 (13.4)
MOTM: Shaheen Shah Afridi (5/12)

Table update: Minnesota remain 4th on 2 points, Philly remain 5th on 0 points

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 2 Match 12
Northeastern Conference
Washington Blizzard vs Chicago Greens
Washington
Prematch Table Placings: Washington 3rd on 2 points, Chicago 2nd on 2 points

Toss: Washington won and chose to bat



A good innings from Washington with Johnson Charles showing the most skill. Kuldeep Yadav was the best of the bowler.



Chicago just get home! Faqar Zaman, Mark Chapman and Qeshile got them home.

WAS 3/165 (20)
CHI 5/170 (18.5)
MOTM: Mark Chapman (51*)

Table update: Washington remain 3rd on 2 points, Chicago remain 2nd on 4 points

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 2 Match 13
Eastern Conference
Boston Rams vs Charlotte Giants
Boston
Prematch Table Placings: Boston 4th on 0 points, Charlotte 2nd on 2 points

Toss: Charlotte won and chose to bowl



After a fast start, Boston lost 6/14 with James Pattinson the chief destroyer. Surely they can't win?



Indeed they tried- three wickets to Bjorn Fortuin wasn't the plan- but in the end not even Charlotte could throw this away.

BOS 90 (17.4)
CHA 5/91 (15.5)
MOTM: James Pattinson (4/17)

Table update: Charlotte to 1st on 4 points, Boston to 6th on 0 points

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 2 Match 14
Eastern Conference
Miami Titans vs New York Queens
Miami
Prematch Table Placings: NYC 2nd on 2 points, Miami 5th on 0 points

Toss: New York won and chose to bat



The NYC lineup is clearly not built for spin and that showed here- Sikander Raza, in addition to two catches, was economical and Roston Chase also good. With Rashid, Chahal and Rakheem, this could be a close chase.



Until a man who is controversial on these forums showed up.

NYQ 4/132 (20)
MIA 4/137 (14.2)
MOTM: MS DHoni (71)

Table update: Miami to 4th on 2 points, NYC remain 2nd on 2 points

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 2 Match 15
Eastern Conference
Orlando Storm vs Austin Thunderbirds
Orlando
Prematch Table Placings: Orlando 6th on 0 points, Atlanta 3rd on 2 points

Toss: Atlanta won and chose to bat



A good innings by Zubayr Hamza set a platform for Atlanta. They didn't make full use of it, mainly due to runouts, but 7/151 is the best batting first total yet.



Didn't matter. Didn't even matter.

ATL 7/151 (20)
ORL 2/156 (17)
MOTM: Alex Carey (76*)

Table update: Orlando to 5th on 2 points, Atlanta remain 3rd on 2 points

 

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TRADE
Detroit Kings receive: 27yo RHB Agha Salman
Miami Titans receive: 31yo RAFM Siddarth Kaul
Deal Analysis: It was clear that Miami needed more bowling. They're playing their four bowlers right now. They need depth. Detroit also don't have a depth opener. A mutually beneficial deal but I'd say Miami are slight winners.

 

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It's round 3 now. Seasons are beginning to take shape. It's hard to make finals if you drop three straight, so watch out for teams starting on zip.

Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 1
Western Conference
Las Vegas Wizards vs Portland Vikings
Las Vegas
Prematch Table Placings: LV 1st on 4 points, Portland 2nd on 2 points

Toss: LV win and choose to bat
Team news: Neither team changes a winning combination



While Blair Tickner led a late collapse to prevent LV's score from being even higher, Ishan Kishan and the previously out-of-form Devon Conway got it to a respectable 171.



And Portland failed in their reply. Mitch Starc and Nathan Coulternile took early wickets, then Starc and Nathan Ellis took a team hattrick which (critically) included Maxwell (31 from 11 prior).

LV 9/171 (20)
POR 131 (19)
MOTM: Ishan Kishan (80)

Table update: Both teams remain where they are, however Las Vegas now lead by 4 points as they move to 6 points.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 2
Western Conference
Los Angeles Stallions vs San Francisco
Los Angeles
Prematch Table Placings: LA 5th on 2 points, SF 4th on 2 points

Toss: LA won the toss and chose to bat
Team news: LA keep their winning team while San Fran change out Hayden Walsh for Kasun Rajitha.



San Francisco held LA tight through most of the innings, although the total was held up by a 4-6-6 in the 19th over by Cam Green. Dwaine Pretorius and Bhuvi Kumar all kept it tight while both, as well as Kasun Rajitha in for his first game of the season, took two wickets.



Haris Rauf was way off the marks today and his absence was visible to a weak LA unit. Martin Guptill took full advantage of the loose early bowling while the next two Aussies got them easily home.

LA 8/149 (20)
SF 2/150 (16)
MOTM: Martin Guptill (50)

Table update: San Francisco move up to second on 4 points, while LA remain fifth.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 3
Western Conference
San Diego Bolts vs Seattle Bulldogs
San Diego
Prematch Table Placings: SD 6th on 0 points, Seattle 4th on 2 points

Toss: SD win and choose to bat
Team News: San Diego choose to go unchanged surprisingly, however, Seattle drop Lyon in favour of Daryn Dupavillon. Note that this is the second change (of two changes) in the West that indicates a team removing their second spinner.



An innings of two halves. Shoaib Malik and Aiden Markram tore apart the attack early, but after Sandeep removed Shoaib, the innings collapsed in the second half, as SD lost 8/39.



The bold unchanged San Diego approach pays off! Joe Burns and Prithvi Shaw struggled for their runs, then fell at crucial moments. Shakib's economy was key, as was Peter Siddle's 19th over in which 7 runs were conceded, but Critchley and Burns removed.

SD 148 (19.1)
SEA 7/142 (20)
MOTM: Shoaib Malik (51)

Table update: While San Diego get their first points, neither team moves on the table.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 4
Southwestern Conference
Austin Thunderbirds vs Denver Prime
Austin
Prematch Table Placings: Austin 1st on 4 points, Denver 2nd on 2 points

Toss: Denver won and chose to bat
Team news: Both unchanged



A thoroughly uninspiring performance from Denver has handed a big advantage to Austin. Tim Southee with the headline figures. The savind grace could be the pitch which heavily favours pacers



And it is! Nurse and Yadav couldn't save them from 8/59 and Austin crash to defeat due to great new ball bowling from Daniel Sams and Vishwa Fernando.

DEN 5/113 (20)
AUS 93 (16.4)
MOTM: Daniel Sams (4/33)

Table update: Both teams remain in their current positions, although Denver go to 4 points.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 5
Southwestern Conference
Dallas Tumbleweeds vs Kansas City Sharks
Dallas
Prematch Table Placings: Dallas 4th on 2 points, Kansas 6th on 0 points

Toss: Dallas won and chose to bat
Team news: Both teams unchanged



A second inadequate batting first performance in a row. Hardik Pandya carried the innings at the end, but Ishant Sharma and Gurney had done the damage.



Kansas didn't mess it up unlike Austin. Andre Fletcher was the main factor.

DAL 7/107 (20)
KC 2/108 (12.3)
MOTM: Andre Fletcher (42)

Table update: Dallas remain 4th, Kansas remain 6th but move to 2 points.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 6
Southwestern Conference
Houston Cheetahs vs Phoenix Broncos
Houston
Prematch Table Placings: Houston 5th, Phoenix 3rd, both on 2 points

Toss: Phoenix won and chose to bat
Team news: Both teams unchanged



A good performance from Phoenix, but let's just appreciate how on fire Shubman Gill is!



But Liam Livingstone matches him and with solid support from Hafeez and Hope, Houston squeak home!

PHO 8/178 (20)
HOU 3/179 (19.3)
MOTM: Liam Livingstone (69)

Table update: Houston go to 3rd on 4 points, Phoenix drop to fourth.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 7
Southern Conference
Cincinnati Knights vs Memphis Stars
Cincinnati
Prematch Table Placings: The teams are 1-2, both on 4 points... it's a clash for the lead

Toss: Memphis won and chose to bat
Team news: Memphis unchanged, Cincinnati replace Ali Khan with Obed McCoy



Memphis continue to get carried by Mohammad Rizwan! In other stories, Colin Ingram also got past 50, and Rashid Khan only was bowled one over. May need to change his batting position...



Luckily, despite this, Cincinnati won of the back of a great innings from Jason Roy. It did take 16 coming from the final over...

MEM 4/173 (20)
CIN 5/175 (19.4)
MOTM: Jason Roy (77)

Table update: Cincinnati now clear on top on 6 points.

 

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Cricket Super League, Round 3 Match 8
Southern Conference
Indianapolis Inferno vs Oklahoma City Hounds
Indianapolis
Prematch Table Placings: Indy are bottom and pointless, while OKC are third on 2 points.

Toss: Indy won and chose to bat
Team news: Oklahoma unchanged, while Indy replace Warrier (8 overs for 81 runs) with Jamie Porter.



Three South innings, three big opener scores. Aaron Finch went ballistic, and while the innings cooled when he was dismissed and Chris Morris was introduced, Joe Denly kept the pressure up to end n 178.



This time the batting first team win! Kagiso Rabada's four wickets were key, dismissing Zazai and Buttler early and then Short and De Grandhomme at a crucial moment.

IND 3/178 (20)
OKC 8/166 (20)
MOTM: Aaron Finch (78)

Table update: Positions remain same, Indy move to 2 points