In four seasons so far of the Abu Dhabi T10 league, we have seen three different champions.
The Northern Warriors are the most successful team, having won two titles in 2018 and 2021.
Here, we take a brief look at each of the winning team’s seasons:
2017 – Kerala Kings
Led by future World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, the Kerala Kings won the inaugural T10 League.
They beat Punjabi Legends by 8 wickets in the final, having earlier lost to them in the group stages.
Punjabi Legends wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi was the highest run-scorer in the season with 197 runs.
Champions Kerala Kings’ seamers Sohail Tanvir and Ryad Emrit and Punjabi Legends’ Hasan Ali ended as joint top-wicket takers with five each.
2018 – Northern Warriors
Northern Warriors won their first T10 League title in 2018. T20 World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy was their skipper for the season.
The Northern Warriors scored 140-3 in their 10 overs and then restricted Pakhtoons to 118/7.
Northern Warriors’ Nicholas Pooran was the top-scorer with 324 runs in the tournament while their seamer Hardus Viljoen was the highest wicket-taker with 18, capping off a perfect tournament.
2019 – Maratha Arabians
Rechristened as the Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2019, Maratha Arabians were crowned the champions in this edition.
Led by the legendary Dwayne Bravo, Maratha Arabians began their campaign with a loss against Northern Warriors in Group B. However, they won their remaining two matches – against Qalandars and Team Abu Dhabi – by convincing margins to finish top of Group B.
In the Super League stage, Maratha Arabians recorded wins over Delhi Bulls and Bangla Tigers and combined with a no-result against Karnataka Tuskers, advanced to the qualifier as table toppers.
Maratha Arabians edged out Qalandars by seven runs in the qualifier to make their way to the final.
In the final, led by Dwayne Bravo’s 2-16, Maratha Arabians kept Deccan Gladiators to 87/8 and then chased down the target in just 7.2 overs to lift the Abu Dhabi T10 title.
2020 – Northern Warriors
The most recent edition of the ADT10 saw Northern Warriors crowned champions. They were captained by Nicholas Pooran, who was also adjudged ‘Player of the Series’.
Northern Warriors lost their first match to defending champions Maratha Arabians but went on to beat Delhi Bulls and Bangla Tigers to finish top of Group A.
They then got the better of Team Abu Dhabi, Deccan Gladiators and Pune Devils to end second in the Super League, level on points with Delhi Bulls but trailing by net run rate.
Northern Warriors suffered a setback in the qualifier, losing to Delhi Bulls but put the loss behind them and a few hours later, beat Team Abu Dhabi in the second eliminator to make it to the final.
A starring 3-14 from Maheesh Theekshana helped Northern Warriors keep Delhi Bulls to 81/9. They then chased it down in 8.2 overs to win the latest Abu Dhabi T10 trophy.
