Abu was retained as defending champions Deccan Gladiators beat New York Strikers by 37 runs.
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Defending champions Deccan Gladiators once again stamped their authority in the Abu Dhabi T10 by registering an emphatic 37-run win over New York Strikers in the final of the sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. It was a stellar performance from Deccan Gladiators who needed to win the Eliminator against Team Abu Dhabi and then beat Samp Army in the second Qualifier on Saturday to reach the final. By winning the final also through disciplined cricket, they registered three consecutive wins to show their prowess in the shortest format of cricket.
New York Strikers, who reached the final after topping the points table and defeating Samp Army in the first qualifier, could not raise their game in the final. Deccan Gladiators scored 128 for 4 in 10 overs, with David Wiese scoring an unbeaten 43 off 18 balls with two fours and four sixes, their captain Nicholas Pooran also hitting five fours and a six off 23 balls. Scored 40 runs with the help. Pooran not only lifted the trophy but also won the Player of the Tournament award.
Chasing down the target, New York could manage 91 for 5 in 10 overs in front of tight and disciplined bowling by strikers Josh Little (2 for 4) and Mohammad Hasnain (2 for 14).
New York Strikers won the toss and decided to field. Deccan Gladiators defended their title with Suresh Raina taking on Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Raina hit the second ball of the first over for a four over extra cover from Akil Hossain but was dismissed on the last ball of that over. He flicked Hossain straight to Thompson over deep midwicket for 7 runs.
Kohler-Cadmore smashed Tom Hartley’s first delivery over mid-wicket for a boundary and the second delivery over mid-wicket for a six. Hossain had Kohler-Cadmore caught by Kieron Pollard at long-on for 11 off the second ball of the third over. It was a brilliant catch as he leapt near the fence and balanced well on one leg to complete the catch.
Andre Russell, the hero of his last match, who scored a brilliant 63 against Samp Army in the Qualifier 2 match on Saturday to take Deccan Gladiators to the final, started by hitting Hossein for a six over deep mid-wicket. The fourth over was a brilliant over from Rashid Khan. He gave only three runs.
Skipper Nicholas Pooran starts off by hitting Wahab Riaz over extra cover for a boundary. After this, he hit a six on the third ball towards fine leg. On the fourth ball, he hit a four towards fine leg. Wahab Riaz took the prize wicket of Andre Russell on the last ball. He clean bowled Russell for 9 when he tried to hit him across the line and got a thick inside edge at the stumps.
Sixth over was another brilliant over from Rashid Khan. He did not allow any boundary to Pooran and new player David Wiese and gave only seven runs. Jordan Thompson’s seventh over was also well bowled. Apart from Pooran hitting the first ball for a boundary, the rest of the deliveries were tight.
Wise made up for all the good overs by smashing Wahab Riaz’s first ball over third man for a six on the first ball of the seventh over. The third ball was flicked for a six and the fourth too went for another six over long-on. Wiese ended the over hitting a boundary over backward point to take 24 runs from that over.
Pooran also did not spare Thompson and hit a boundary towards deep point. When Wiese also hit Thompson over point for a boundary, the Deccan Gladiators’ score went past the 100-run mark. Thompson gave away 17 runs in the ninth over. Wiese hit the first ball of the last over for a six over long on. Pollard prevented the batsmen from hitting more big shots. He also dismissed Pooran on the last ball of the innings, which was caught by Matiullah Khan for 40 runs. Vise remained unbeaten on 43 as Deccan Gladiators posted a challenging 128 for 4 in 10 overs.
The New York Strikers needed to score at a run rate of 12.80 and needed a good start. Josh Little got Deccan Gladiators off to a good start as opener Muhammad Wasim was clean bowled for a duck. Wasim going for a drive, the inside ball hits his stumps. Sterling hit a big six over mid-wicket off the first ball of Mohammad Hasnain’s second over but fell on the second ball. Kohler-Cadmore was caught at deep square leg as Stirling lofted it through the air for 6.
Azam Khan starts off by smashing Hasnain over deep square leg for a four. Hasnain struck again on the fifth ball, taking the valuable wicket of Eoin Morgan. Morgan going for a shot over mid-off failed and was caught by Wiese for a duck. Odion Smith’s third over was disciplined and conceded just five runs. In the fourth over, Azam hit Zakir Khan for a four at square leg. After this, on the next ball, he hit a six over deep midwicket. He also tried to hit a six off the third ball but could not clear Wes at long-on and was caught for 16 runs.
Captain Kieron Pollard came and hit Zakir Khan for two consecutive sixes. Both of these were hit over midwicket. Twenty two runs came from that over. Odion Smith bowled the fifth over and Thompson hit two fours in his fifth and sixth balls. The New York Strikers were 52 for 4 at the halfway stage, needing 77 runs from the last five overs.
All eyes turned to Pollard, who hit Zahoor Khan’s third ball for a boundary over the long-on fielder. On the fifth ball, Thompson also hit Zahoor for a four over deep midwicket. 13 runs were scored in that over. Hasnain bowled a brilliant seventh over and conceded nothing but just three runs and almost handed the match to Deccan Gladiators.
61 runs were needed in the last 18 balls, Zahoor also bowled brilliantly. With New York needing 52 off 14 balls, Pollard retired hurt due to soreness in his biceps. He scored 23 runs in 15 balls with the help of one four and two sixes. Although Rashid Khan hit Zahoor’s last ball for a four, Zahoor conceded only 10 runs in that over.
With 51 needed from the last 12 balls, Little was reintroduced for the ninth over. He also strangled the run flow with his precise swing and variation of pace and dismissed Rashid Khan for 8 as well. Hossain hit the second ball of Zakir Khan’s last over over long-off for a six but the target was unreachable. Deccan Gladiators won by 37 runs.
Summary Score: (Final)
Deccan Gladiators beat New York Strikers by 37 runs. Deccan Gladiators 128 for 4 in 10 overs (Nicklaus Pooran 40, David Wiese 43 n.o., Akil Hossein 2 for 16) New York Strikers 91 for 5 in 10 overs (Jordan Thompson 22 n.o., Kieron Pollard 23rd injured, Josh Little 4 for 2, Mohammad Hasnain 14 for 2)
Player of the Match: David Wiese.
Player of the Tournament: Nicholas Pooran
UAE Player of the Tournament: Usman Khan
Bowler of the tournament: Akil Hossein
Batsman of the Tournament: Tom Kohler-Cadmore
