Abu Dhabi : Delhi Bulls booked themselves a spot in the playoffs of the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 despite losing to Deccan Gladiators by 3 runs in a thrilling contest at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Saturday. After winning the toss and electing to bat, skipper Nicholas Pooran looked in good touch, scoring 28 runs in 12 balls to give his side a fiery start. But Afghanistan speedster Fazalhaq Farooqui and Pakistan fast bowler Salman Irshad combined to dismantle Deccan fierce batting order, and controlled the flow of runs.
Irshad took two crucial wickets of Rilee Rossouw and Jos Buttler and put his side in control. In 10 overs, Deccan could only muster a total of 102/5.
Chasing the total, the openers Tom Banton and James Vince took the onus on themselves and stitched a 51-run stand for the opening wicket. But after Banton was dismissed for 29, Delhi suffered a middle-order collapse with Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq and South African pacer Anrich Nortje picking up five between themselves. Despite late heroics from Australia’s Tim David, who scored 30* off 14 balls, Delhi fell short of the target, but did enough to finish fifth in the table. UAE speedster Zahoor Khan, who gave away 16 runs his first over, composed himself and bowled a fantastic final over to contain David, and proved to be the game changer.
*Samp Army stumble on road to playoffs*
Ajman Bolts bowed out of the tournament with a three-wicket win over the Morrisiville Samp Army, handing the opposition their first defeat of the season. Andries Gous’ unbeaten 43-run inning off 27 balls helped Morrisville Samp Army post a total of 102/5 in 10 overs. Mohammad Nabi picked up two wickets for just 16 runs in his 2 overs playing a key role in restricting Samp Army to 102/5 in 10 overs.
Former England international Alex Hales smashed a 17-ball 50 for Ajman Bolts as he set up his side to complete chase. Despite suffering a middle-order collapse caused by Afghanistan spinners Qais Ahmad and Shrafuddin Ashraf, Bolts won the match. The result did not change much for Samp Army as they still finished as the table-toppers.
*Teams Qualified for playoffs:*
1) Morrisville Samp Army
2) Deccan Gladiators
3) Team Abu Dhabi
4) UP Nawabs
5) Delhi Bulls
*Schedule for Playoffs (Timings in GST):*
*15:30 hrs:* Qualifier 1 – Morrisville Samp Army vs Deccan Gladiators
*17:45 hrs:* Eliminator 1 – UP Nawabs vs Delhi Bulls
*20:00 hrs:* Eliminator 2 – Team Abu Dhabi vs Winner of Eliminator 1
