The Abu Dhabi T10 sixth edition got off to an explosive start on Wednesday, with boundaries galoring all across the ground at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Although the likes of Evin Lewis, Azam Khan and Kieron Pollard flexed their muscle to great effect, it was Deccan Gladiators’ skipper Nicholas Pooran who walked away with the Moment of the Day.
Pooran blitz sinks Team Abu Dhabi
Nicholas Pooran smashed 27 runs in one over off Mustafizur Rahman, helping his side finish their innings on a high.
Deccan Gladiators, the defending champions, were up against Team Abu Dhabi in the second game of the opening day. Gladiators, who were batting first, required a big finish and skipper Pooran delivered for the side.
He used the pace of Mustafizur Rahman to smash two fours and three sixes in the ninth over and interestingly, all of them were hit behind the square on the off-side. The Caribbean powerhouse took great advantage of the field restrictions, targeting the backward point area to get his boundaries.
He picked up a single off the last delivery to complete 27 runs off the over, the highest on the first day of the sixth edition.
Gladiators posted 134 runs batting first courtesy of a Nicholas Pooran blitzkrieg. The West Indian batter came in at number three and smacked 77 runs in 33 balls to propel his side to a huge total.
Team Abu Dhabi were restricted by some tight bowling by the Gladiators, who managed just 99/6 in their 10 overs. James Vince (37 in 19 balls) and Fabian Allen (26 in 13 balls) gave the side a glimmer of hope, but the defending champions emerged victorious by 35 runs.
Tigers off to a flyer
In the opening game of ADT10 2022, Bangla Tigers got the better of newcomers New York Strikers by 19 runs. Evin Lewis and skipper Shakib Al Hasan stepped up for the Tigers to get their campaign off to a fantastic start.
Evin Lewis’s 22-ball 58 powered the side to 131/5 in 10 overs batting first. Senior pros Wahab Riaz and Ravi Rampaul picked up two wickets each for the bowling unit.
A couple of entertaining cameos from Azam Khan (34 in 13 balls) and Kieron Pollard (45 in 19 balls) kept the Strikers in the mix, but they could only manage 112/8 in the second innings.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan was the game-changer with the ball, who bowled two overs in the powerplay and conceded just seven runs. He also dismissed Muhammad Waseem for a first-ball duck.