Deccan Gladiators sealed an impressive 24-run win over Northern Warriors in the first match on the third day of the Abu Dhabi T10. Nicholas Pooran enthralled fans at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium with a 32-ball 80, including 10 fours and three sixes. Deccan Gladiators posted 138. While chasing the target, Northern Warriors could muster only 114.
Deccan Gladiators won the toss and elected to bat. Jason Roy and Tom Kohler-Cadmore teed off after getting their eye in. Roy’s aggressive innings, which included three boundaries, ended in the last ball of the second over.
Nicholas Pooran, the Deccan Gladiators’ captain, began in his usual swashbuckling style, smashing multiple boundaries from the get-go. Kohler-Cadmore also got into the act, smashing a couple of boundaries.
Irrespective of who came on to bowl, Pooran continued tonking them to the boundary, pushing the Gladiators towards a dominant position. By the end of the seventh over, Deccan Gladiators were 92/1 and 51 of those came from Pooran’s bat.
Junaid Siddiqui, re-introduced in the eighth over, conceded 16 runs as Pooran smashed three boundaries to steer the reigning champions past the 100-run mark.
The former West Indian captain’s spectacular knock of 80 ended on the second ball of the last over. Meanwhile, Kohler-Cadmore remained unbeaten on 32 off 16 balls with two sixes and a four. Deccan Gladiators posted an impressive 138/3 in 10 overs.
Adam Lyth and Kennar Lewis started the Northern Warriors’ chase. Lyth began aggressively, hitting both Josh Little and Odean Smith for boundaries in the first two overs. On the other hand, Lewis could not match Lyth’s pace but gave him good support while also smashing an odd boundary.
Kennar Lewis’ innings ended in the fifth over, but the opening pair had put on 59 runs in 4.5 overs. Odean Smith struck in the sixth over to dismiss Adam Lyth for a 22-ball 51, including five fours and four sixes.
The responsibility of the run chase fell on skipper Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford. Despite their aggression in the middle overs, the Northern Warriors needed 55 runs off the last three overs.
However, Tom Helm derailed the run chase by picking the wickets of Rutherford and Powell in the eighth over, while giving away just six runs, enabling Deccan Gladiators to take a firm grip on the match.
With 49 runs needed off 12 balls, Josh Little and David Wiese successfully closed the match for the reigning champions. The Gladiators restricted the Warriors to 114/5.
Brief scores: Deccan Gladiators 138/3 in 10 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 32*, Nicholas Pooran 80) beat Northern Warriors 114/5 in 10 overs (Adam Lyth 51, Tom Helm 2/12) by 24 runs.
Player of the Match: Nicholas Pooran
