Team Abu Dhabi returns to the top through a hard-fought win

 By K.R. Nayar 

The first match of the day on Monday was a battle between table-toppers Deccan Gladiators and second-placed Team Abu Dhabi. Through a well-fought contest, Abu Dhabi returned back to the top of the table beating Gladiators by eight runs.

Liam Livingstone 

The luck of the coin went the Gladiators’s way and they elected to field but they could not pull off a victory against the determined Abu Dhabi team. Abu Dhabi opener Phil Salt, fresh from his knock of 63 against Bangla Tigers on Sunday, hit the first three deliveries of the first over from Gladiator’s skipper Wahab Riaz for boundaries. Riaz struck with the last ball of that over to have opener Paul Stirling caught by Russell at mid-off for a duck.

Salt continued his boundary hits in the second over too, scoring two successive boundaries off Sultan Ahmed. Odean Smith stopped Salt by clean bowling him for 22. Chris Gayle joined Liam Livingstone on the crease. Livingstone hit Smith for a six. The consistent Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva bowled a tight fourth over giving away just five runs. Livingstone hit the last two deliveries of the fifth over from Smith for two successive sixes to take the score to 55.

Riaz tried his best to tighten the run flow in the sixth over but Gayle hit him for a boundary and Livingstone for another six. Tymal Mills then removed the danger man Gayle with the first ball of the seventh over for 12. Livingstone hit the next ball after Gayle’s dismissal for a six over mid-wicket. Colin Ingram hit the first ball he faced for a six off Mills by pulling him over square leg.

Riaz promptly introduced De Silva for the eighth over and this miserly bowler gave away just singles off his first four deliveries. Ingram hit the fifth delivery for a six but got beaten off the last ball. In the ninth over, Livingstone reached his half-century in 21 balls. He hit Mills for a boundary and a six off successive deliveries. 

Livingstone also hit Mills’ third and fourth deliveries for a boundary. Mills finally had Livingstone caught by Tom Kohler-Cadmore at long-on off the last ball of the over. By then Livingstone had scored 59 off 24 balls with three boundaries and six sixers. Andre Russell’s first delivery of the last over was hit for six by Ingram. Russell ensured that he was not hit for any more boundaries from that over. Team Abu Dhabi posted 125 for 4 in 20 overs. Ingram remained unbeaten on 25 from 11 balls with three sixes.

Chasing a run rate of 12.50, Gladiators lost their opener Kohler-Cadmore to the first ball from Sheldon Cottrell. He produced a beauty that hit Kohler-Cadmore’s off stump, and Cottrell celebrated with his trademark salute. He gave away just four runs in that over. Tom Moore hit Marchant De Lange for a six and two boundaries to take 17 runs in that over. 

Anwar Ali hit Cottrell’s first delivery of the third over for a six. Cottrell struck again to have Ingram caught at deep cover for 16. That brought in Najibullah Zadran. Ali hit Livingstone for two successive sixes but Zadran fell for 4. Then Cottrell took Ali’s catch from Naveen Ul Haq's bowling. Despite the fall of wickets, Gladiators had scored 58 for 3. In fact, Abu Dhabi had scored only 55 at their halfway mark.

Anwar Ali 

The challenge was to score sixty-eight runs from the last five overs. David Wiese and Ali went for the runs hitting Danny Briggs for one six each and taking 18 runs in that over.  Wiese hit Jamie Overton’s first delivery of the seventh over for a six and the last ball for a boundary. Ali fell to the first ball of the eight over, caught behind off De Lange for 42 from 20 balls with five sixes. In walked Russell with Gladiators needing 38 off 17 balls, but he got clean bowled by De Lange for 4.  De Lange gave away only nine runs in that over.

At twenty-nine needed in 12 balls, Wiese got run out to a throw from the wicket keeper Salt for 27.  Odean Smith too got run out for 5.  With 15 needed off the last six balls, Overton gave away just six runs to ensure Team Abu Dhabi's victory.