Highlights of the first round
Sathiya Rupan clinches a last-ball thriller for Reykjavík
Tajdar Khan and Samuel Gill hit rapid runs for Hafnarfjörður
Derick Deonarain and Lakmal Bandara reply like-for-like
They lead Reykjavík to Iceland's record 10-over total
Nolan Williams top-scores with career-best for Kópavogur
Bharat Penumatsa struck in the jaw by a Williams drive
Sebastiaan Dreyer again drives Vesturbær's scoring
Arun Radhakrishnan takes 3 for 7
Vesturbær falls agonisingly short after middle-order collapse
Reykjavík v Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður 113 for 6 (10 overs) Samuel Gill 36*, Tajdar Khan 35 Sadun Lankathilaka 1—15
Reykjavík 114 for 5 (10 overs) Lakmal Bandara 33, Derick Deonarain 30 Tajdar Khan 2—14
Reykjavík won by five wickets Full scorecard
The Hammers, despite the absence of Dushan Bandara with a hand injury, got off to a lightning start thanks to Fernando, but he was furious to see the umpire's finger raised after he felt he'd got an edge, and thus the wrong end of an lbw decision. He gesticulated with the official to no avail. Younas popped a catch to Lankathilaka, fielding in a beanie hat and padded parka jacket. Khan's personal-best innings came from 14 balls and included five fours and two sixes, meaning that only three of his 35 runs were scored short of the rope. 50 for 1 became 73 for 6 as Hafnarfjörður teetered on the brink, but Gill returned to form with a superb unbeaten knock almost as fast as Khan's. 32 of his 36 runs went to the rope. Reykjavík's impressive openers put together another half-century stand but when Rawat was caught at the wicket and Deonarain fell to a very close run out, the Vikings found themselves on the back foot. Lakmal Bandara hit the craziest knock of a wild and windy day, smacking four sixes in hurtling to 33 from just 13 balls, but when he was out there was another mini-collapse and three runs off the last over became a surprisingly difficult task. Enter Rupan, who calmly strode to the middle to face the final ball with a single required. His glide to third man sealed a pulsating victory.
Kópavogur v Vesturbær
Kópavogur 80 for 5 (10 overs) Nolan Williams 36 Gujapan Ramachandran 1—2
Vesturbær 74 for 6 (10 overs) Sebastiaan Dreyer 34 Arun Radhakrishnan 3—7
Kópavogur won by six runs Full scorecard
The Puffins front-loaded their top order with their three hitters, and without Kamallakharan, Chauhan and Williams their total would have been meagre indeed. The openers made a run-a-ball start for three overs before Williams hit a cavalier cameo filled with booming drives and leg-side shots, including the six of the day off Penumatsa. Worse was to come for the medium-pacer as he found his final delivery drilled straight back at him, taking him out of the contest with a fearsome blow to the jaw. It was a miracle he was not instantly hospitalised, and the game paused in concerned silence for 10 minutes. Handy death bowling from Ramachandran put the brakes on Kópavogur and ensured a chaseable target. Vesturbær were without Nelson, though, and it showed. Promoted to open, Kotian did a good job in helping Dreyer hit up 38 for the first wicket, but when he fell to Cook, the floodgates opened. Mishra, Ramachandran, Jayabhavan and Atturi all made ducks and worse still, ate up a good deal of the strike in doing so. Dreyer was abandoned at the non-striker's end and the innings was becalmed. The Volcano needed 26 from the last 24 deliveries, and here lay their undoing: Dreyer, scoring freely but not quite selfish or brave enough to hog the strike, faced only eight of these balls. His partners faced 16 of them, scoring two singles and losing four wickets. 10 from the last over proved too many as Dreyer watched, helpless, from the wrong end.
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