Sports

Team Abu Dhabi enters play-offs in style at Abu Dhabi T10

Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad's four wickets meant Northern Warriors lost nine wickets for the addition of 30 runs (Focus Sports)

30 Nov 2024 22:04

Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)

Team Abu Dhabi got the final push it needed to make it to the Abu Dhabi T10 play-offs on Saturday as they beat Northern Warriors in a dramatic match at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. The Warriors got off to a flying start but Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad turned the tables to spark a collapse and pick up four wickets.

The day started with five teams on six points in the 10-team league with three spots available in the play-offs stage This year’s format has been tweaked to make sure five out of the 10 teams stand a chance of having a crack at the title through the knockout stage after each team played seven opponents out of the possible nine. There will be two eliminators and two Qualifiers to determine the finalists.

The home favourites started the final day of the league stage in third place but UP Nawabs – debutants this year along with Ajman Bolts – won the first game of the day to displace TAD temporarily while knocking out rivals Bangladesh Tigers. That put Phil Salt’s team under pressure straightaway and even more so when their decision to bowl looked like backfiring when the Warriors’ openers put up 30 runs in 14 balls.

Step up Ahmad and his left-arm wrist spin. He started with bowling through the gates of Colin Munro and then the other bowlers stepped in to trigger a collapse. The next nine wickets for Warriors came at the gain of only 30 runs.

It could have been even lesser if not for dropped catches, the bane of the tournament with Team Abu Dhabi guilty for more than the rest, and a couple of lusty blows from Trent Boult. The New Zealander added 14 runs to enter the double digits along with opener Finn Allen (34). Kadeem Alleyne dropped a sitter but then took the most difficult one off Ahmad’s googly to send Azmatullah Omarzai and redeem himself.

“The wicket against Munro was the most satisfying one,” Ahmad told Aletihad when asked to pick his choice among his four prizes. “The plan and brief was to go and deliver our best and not worry about the table positions. So I was focusing on the task at hand,” the young, talented Afghan bowler said.

Salt and his top-order batting colleagues played a bit safer than needed but a victory by eight wickets to put Team Abu Dhabi back in third and, importantly, with a healthy run rate.

The next two matches saw results falling in favour of TAD. Morrisville Samp Army saw their winning streak end with a defeat to Ajman Bolts while Deccan Gladiators beat Delhi Bulls by four runs in a match that went down to the wire. Both Samp Army and Gladiators were assured of their top-two positions on the table respectively. Delhi Bulls made it in the fifth spot despite the narrow loss.