The Abu Dhabi T10 Season 6 produced some scintillating action throughout the 11 days and it is now time for the final lap.
On the final day of the ongoing edition of ADT10, Morrisville Samp Army will take on Team Abu Dhabi in a third-placed play-off, followed by a mouthwatering finale between Deccan Gladiators and New York Strikers.
Final – New York Strikers vs Deccan Gladiators
The Deccan Gladiators gave it their all on Saturday in two playoff matches that went down to the last over, whilst newcomers New York Strikers made it to the final with a comfortable victory against Morrisville Samp Army in the first Qualifier.
After losing the opening match of their campaign, the Strikers never looked back and registered seven wins on the trot to reach the summit clash.
Eoin Morgan is leading the charge for the Strikers with the bat, having scored 219 runs in eight innings already. This includes the highest individual score of the tournament against the Northern Warriors, where his 35-ball 87 helped them chase down 144 runs successfully.
The experience of Wahab Riaz and Ravi Rampaul, coupled with the presence of Rashid Khan in the middle overs, have made the Strikers, making their ADT10 debut this campaign, make the Strikers a formidable unit and the newcomers will go into the final as outright favourites.
Gladiators, meanwhile, will look to deny the debutant and become the first team in ADT10 history to successfully defend their title. Nicholas Pooran can take heart from the fact that crucial players have been returning to form at the right time after a sluggish start.
Nicholas Pooran (305 runs) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (278 runs) are the leading run-scorers of the tournament and the duo has carried the Gladiators’ batting line-up.
Andre Russell scored his first fifty of this edition against Samp Army in the second Qualifier and Odeon Smith chipped in with a vital contribution earlier on Saturday in the Eliminator.
Things are falling into place exactly at the right time for their bowling department as well, who defended the lowest total of Season 6 in the Eliminator against Team Abu Dhabi. Joshua Little is the team’s leading wicket-taker thus far with eight wickets and he will be the main man for Pooran in the death overs.
Third-place playoff – Team Abu Dhabi vs Morrisville Samp Army
Morrisville Samp Army picked up 10 points in the league stages to finish second, while Team Abu Dhabi picked up nine points to finish third.
Both the sides fighting for a third-place finish have relied heavily on their bowling department this season but fortune did not side with them on Saturday.
Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq (10 wickets) and mystery spinner Peter Hatzoglou (nine wickets) have been terrific for Team Abu Dhabi season. Both are among the top five-wicket takers in this edition.
Dwaine Pretorious, who tops the wicket-taking charts with 12 scalps to his credit, has led the charge for Samp Army.
Besides Samp Army’s Moeen Ali (159 runs) and Team Abu Dhabi’s Chris Lynn (176 runs), neither of the team’s batters have managed to fire consistently this season, which led to their downfall in the playoffs.
Both the teams will once again depend on their bowlers to give them the edge in the third-place playoff.
