Maratha Arabians conquered Deccan Gladiators to emerge as the new champions of the Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10 in front of a cheering crowd of 20,352 fans at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The Arabians restricted Gladiators to 87 for 8 in 10 overs, the lowest total of this edition, and won by eight wickets with 16 balls to spare. Gladiators lost the wickets of skipper Shane Watson (1) and Mohammad Shahzad (14) quickly. Kieron Pollard (5) and Dan Lawrence (4) followed, leaving Gladiator struggling at 34 for 4 in 4.5 overs.
Asif Khan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa put on 35 runs in three overs before Dwayne Bravo trapped Rajapaksa leg before for 23. A hat-trick of run outs followed off the last three balls of the last over. Khan remained unconquered on 25.
Maratha Arabians replied through opener Chadwick Walton hitting 17 runs off the first over from Fawad Ahmad. In the second over, Walton and Chris Lynn hit Sheldon Cottrell for 15 runs for a breezy start. The pair put of 50 runs in 3.3 overs before UAE’s Zahoor Khan removed Lynn for 16. Walton remained unbeaten on 51 off 26 balls.
In the third place play-off, Bangla Tigers defeated Qalandars by six wicket with two balls to spare. Tigers’ opener Andre Fletcher emerged as the hero through a breezy 52 after Qalandars were restricted to 109 for 3.
