DECCAN Gladiators clinched their maiden Abu Dhabi T10 title with a convincing 56-run victory over Delhi Bulls in the final.

Andre Russell’s (Dre Russ) masterclass of 90 runs, comprising seven sixes and nine fours, ensured Deccan Gladiators lifted the trophy for the first time while Delhi Bulls second-best for the second straight edition.
Earlier in the third-place playoff match, Team Abu Dhabi tied with Bangla Tigers in a last-ball thriller and finished the tournament in third place owing to a better performance in the group stages.

Put in to bat, Deccan Gladiators openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Russell got the team off to a flying start with 68-0 at the halfway mark.
Thereafter, the duo upped the ante, pounding every bowler out of the park. The pair first smashed Romario Shepherd for 23 and later Ravi Rampaul for 21 runs in the eighth and ninth over of their innings to set up a daunting total of 159-0 in their 10 overs, the highest total of this season.

Chasing 160 for victory, Delhi Bulls were off to the worst possible start, losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sherfane Rutherford in the second over of the chase to leave them struggling at 25-2 in two overs.
Chandrapaul Hemraj (42 off 20 balls) tried to keep the Delhi Bulls afloat but they kept losing wickets at regular intervals in their quest to catch up with the climbing run-rate.
In the end, a clinical all-round effort resulted in a comfortable title win for Deccan Gladiators.

Team Abu Dhabi played out a last-ball tie against Bangla Tigers and clinched the third spot, courtesy of finishing higher in the group stages of the tournament.
Both teams ended on 98 runs after 10 overs as Team Abu Dhabi’s Naveen-ul-Haq held his nerves to defend seven runs in the final over and help his side end the tournament on a high.

Opting to bat first, Team Abu Dhabi reached 98-5 after Colin Ingram smacked an unbeaten 41 off 24 and Phil Salt pounded 21 from seven. The score could have been much higher but for a very disciplined bowling effort from the Tigers, especially in the middle overs.

In reply, Bangla Tigers scored 29 runs in the first three overs but also lost both their openers to speedster Naveen-ul-Haq.

With 40 needed from 18 balls, Karim Janat and Will Smeed smashed Marchant de Lange and skipper Liam Livingstone for 33 runs in the eighth and ninth over to turn the game on its head. But Naveen-ul-Haq’s heroics in the last over meant the Tigers could only level the score at 98-6.