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Deccan Gladiators stormed into the final of the Abu Dhabi T10 outplaying Morrisville Samp Army by 28 runs in the Qualifier 2 match at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. They will take on New York Strikers in the final
It was a day when everything went wrong for table toppers Samp Army. They lost to second placed New York Strikers by 41 runs in the Qualifier 1 match and also surrendered to the third placed Gladiators in Qualifier 2.
For the Gladiators, it was a day when everything went right for them. They scored an emphatic ten-wicket win over Bangla Tigers in the Eliminator through a spectacular brilliant batting display and then had an easy win over Gladiators through a fine allround show.
Samp Army had won the toss and elected to field. Gladiators went on to post an impressive 117 for 5 through valuable contributions from Tom Kohler-Cadmore (36), skipper Nicholas Pooran (26) and Imad Wasim (35). Two wicket efforts from Samp Army’s Qais Ahmad and Salman Irshad went in vain.
Chasing a target of over 11 runs needed a good start, but Samp Army lost their skipper and opener Faf du Plessis to the fifth ball of the first over from Imad Wasim, caught by Mohammad Zahid at gully for 4. In the second over, Fabian Allen removed Ibrahim Zadran, caught by Russell at mid-on for 7.
Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil had Dewald Brevis caught and bowled for 1. He also trapped Gous leg before while attempting a reverse sweep. After Imad Wasim bowled a tight fourth over giving fours run, Salamkheil got the valuable wicket of Jason Holder, caught by Allen at deep mid-wicket.
With half the side back in the dug-out for 28 runs and 90 runs needed off the remaining, Deccan Gladiators confirmed their place in the final. Karim Janat delayed Gladiators’ win through a knock of 31 runs before falling to Russell. One-drop batter Andries Gous remained unbeaten on 28 while Bas Leede chipped in with an unbeaten 13 they put on an unbeaten 25 runs but Gladiator strangled the run flow.
Brief scores:
Deccan Gladiators bt Samp Army by 28 runs. Deccan Gladiators 117 for 5 in 10 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 36, Nicholas Pooran 26, Imad Wasim 35, Qais Ahmad 2 for 11, Salman Irshad 2 fo 24) Samp Army 89 for 6 in 10 overs (Andries Gous 28n.o, Karim Janat 31, Waqar Salamkheil 3 for 6)
Player of the Match: Waqar Salamkheil
Deccan Gladiators’ another strong batting show
Earlier, Gladiators openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Nicholas Pooran, fresh from a 114 runs unbeaten partnership that eliminated Bangla Tigers in the eliminator, started in the same aggressive style.
If in the last match it was Kohler-Cadmore who set the tempo for a breezy race to the target, in this match it was Pooran who started hitting right away. He hit Jason Holder’s third ball for a boundary over mid-on and the fifth delivery for a six over mid-wicket.
In the second over, he thrashed Bas de Leede hitting his first two deliveries to the boundary over mid-on and extra cover. He also hit the third ball for a six over mid-wicket. Kohler picked his first boundary off the last ball of De Leede’s over mid-off.
The accurate and intelligent leg spinner Qais Ahmad picked the valuable wicket of Pooran, caught by Holder at long-off fence for 26. With the next ball he also removed danger man Andre Fletcher caught behind by wicketkeeper Andries Gous. He gave away only three runs in that over.
Karim Janat who bowled the fourth over pulled his hamstring after three deliveries and Basil Hameed completed the over. Only seven runs came off that over. Imad Wasim joined Kohler-Cadmore and hit two consecutive boundaries off the second and third deliveries to long-on and deep cover. He also pulled the fifth ball for a boundary and hit a six over long-off off the last ball to take 20 runs off that over.
Kohler-Cadmore who had remained silent, opened up in the sixth over to hit Muhammad Irfan for a boundary and a six to take 18 runs off that over. Qais bowled the seventh over and was hit by Wasim to the extra cover boundary. But he was a miser again, giving only eight runs off the over. Meanwhile, the partnership went past the 50 mark too.
Holder got Wasim out with the second ball of the eighth over caught by Du Plessis at mid-off for 35. He had put on 57 runs off 30 balls for the third wicket. Andre Russell joined Kolher-Cadmore and the score reached the 100 run mark in 8.2 overs. He pulled De Leede out of the stadium for a six while Kohler-Cadmore hit the last ball for a six over long-off.
Russell fell in the last over from Irshad, caught by Qais at long-off for 9. He then yorked Fabian Allen with the last ball of the innings for 1. It was a brilliant last over from Irshad who gave away only four runs. Kohler-Cadmore remained unbeaten on an uncharacteristic slow 36 from 23 balls with three boundaries and two sixes
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