Abu Dhabi T10: UP Nawabs, Team Abu Dhabi inch closer to playoffs

Abu Dhabi, Nov 30 (IANS) UP Nawabs defeated Bangla Tigers in their final round-robin match of 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 League being played at Zayed Cricket stadium. With this victory, UP took away two crucial points making it an aggregate of 8 points from 7 games.

Batting first, Bangla Tigers could only manage to put 87/4 in 10 overs. Openers and Afghanistan batters Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad did start off the proceedings well for the team stitching a stand of 44 runs for the first wicket but Zazai's departure for 24 off 23 pushed them on the backfoot.

They lost couple of more wickets in quick succession and never really returned back on track in the innings. Pakistan's Iftikhar Ahmed tried to add some quick runs to the tally but his efforts weren't enough for Tigers to post a challenging total on the board. Iftikhar struck 27 off 15 before getting dismissed.

Tymal Mills showed his class with the ball for UP Nawabs as he deceived the batters with his slower ones thoroughly and returned with impressive bowling figures of 3/9 in 2 overs eventually.

Later in the chase, Nawabs lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz early for 2 off 6 but Avishka Fernando, Andre Fletcher and Najibullah Zadran made sure that they take the team over the line. Fernando chipped in with 36 off 16 while Fletcher scored 27 off 19. Zadran, too made a valuable contribution of 19* off 5.

Team Abu Dhabi put up a dominating show against Norther Warriors to win the match by 8 wickets. The bowling unit of Team Abu Dhabi never let opposition take an upper hand in the game and restricted them to 73/9 in 10 overs. Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad scalped a four-wicket haul for just 13 runs in 2 overs while New Zealand pacer Adam Milne picked up a couple of wickets for his side. Finn Allen was the lone warrior as he struck 35 off 20.

In reply, Team Abu Dhabi chased down the target in less than 7 overs. Aggressive opening batter from West Indies, Kyle Mayers top-scored with 34* of 14.

If Team Abu Dhabi loses, Delhi Bulls loss will be enough if Team Abu Dhabi's margin of defeat isn't greater than 15 runs. If Northern Warriors loses, Delhi Bulls should lose their game by a margin of 112+ runs for Warriors to qualify.They practically need a win here but both these scenarios will come into play only if Delhi Bulls lose their match.

--IANS

aaa