Northern Warriors meet Delhi Bulls in Abu Dhabi T10 final

The two teams will clash at the Zayed stadium on Saturday

Northern Warriors opener Lendl Simmons gets one past the Team Abu Dhabi wicketkeeper Ben Duckett in the Abu Dhabi T10 second eliminator at the Zayed Cricket stadium on Friday, February 5, 2021.Courtesy Abu Dhabi T10Show less

The franchise teams that topped the league phase – Delhi Bulls and Northern Warriors – will meet in the Abu Dhabi T10 final at the Zayed stadium on Saturday.

The Bulls booked their place in the final after a five-wicket win over the Warriors in the first qualifying game but Nicholas Pooran’s side bounced back with a sensational victory over Team Abu Dhabi in the second eliminator to set up a re-match with the Bulls.

The Warriors had a tough ask at the halfway stage of their chase. They needed 76 to win from five overs and then the equation came down to 16 in Tom Helm’s final over.

Lendl Simmons hit two sixes in that over to take his team home with two deliveries to spare in the last of the qualifying and elimination matches on Friday.

Simmons, with a 27-ball 46 not out, took charge of the run chase after Rovman Powell fell in the last delivery of the penultimate over for a well-compiled 24-ball 49.

“It has been a frustrating tournament for Simmons making him bat low down the order,” Pooran said after they reinstated Simmons as the opener.

“Today, going back at the top, he proved that he's a big player. A big game player and he proved all of us how good he is. Very happy for him and very thankful.

“Today we had two chances to reach the final, we took the longer route. We had to win a nail-biting game. Message to Dwayne Bravo, “We are coming back tomorrow.”

Bravo, who led Maratha Arabians to the title last year, will be eyeing in leading Bulls for s first title in the fourth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10.

“I don't think there has been much luck, we've played good cricket throughout,” the Bulls captain said after their five-wicket triumph over the Warriors in the first of the three games.

“Credit to the squad, the management and the fans. We topped the group and now have to the final. Haven't yet won the tournament, so this is a good chance. Great team effort.

Paul Sterling gave Team Abu Dhabi a flying start. The Ireland captain smashed 48 from 13 deliveries before falling to Rayad Emrit to a head-high catch from Mohammed Waseem at long on.

Chris Gayle fell in the first ball of Junaid Siddique’s next over as Abu Dhabi as the Warriors battled back to leave them at 55 for two in the 3.1 overs.

Thereafter, the Warriors did well to restrict Abu Dhabi to 114 for seven with left arm spinner Fabian Allen doing most of the damage by taking four for 13 from his two overs.

“It was very disappointing with the run we had after losing the first two games,” the Abu Dhabi captain Luke Wright said.

“We showed a lot of character the way we came back in the competition. We came very close tonight but unfortunately we are not in the final.”

Earlier in the first eliminator, Abu Dhabi sent Qalandars packing after restricting them to 83 for seven.

Qalandars notched up five successive victories before losing the last two games in the Super League and the eliminator.

“I think that’s the format,” the Qalandars wicketkeeper batsman Ben Dunks acknowledged.

“It’s a short format and individual performances has such a big impact in the game, and unfortunately, we didn’t have one of those today and we didn’t have one yesterday either.

“We had been more consistent rather than been explosive and today we tried to be a little bit more explosive and we saw the result. It’s something we need to work on and hopefully come back even stronger next year.”