Abu Dhabi T10: Deccan Gladiators seal final spot for fourth consecutive season

Deccan Gladiators humbled Morrisville Samp Army, who have had an impeccable run in the round-robin stage, in Qualifier 1 of the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament at Zayed Cricket Stadium.

With this thumping win, two-time champions Gladiators sealed a spot in the final for the fourth consecutive time and fifth overall.

Riding on some spectacular batting from their captain and West Indies player Nicholas Pooran along with England's Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Gladiators posted a mammoth 147/2 in 10 overs. Pooran remained unbeaten at 72 off 33, a knock that included five maximums and four fours.

Kohler-Cadmore, on the other hand, notched up a half-century before he was eventually dismissed for 51 off 24.

Morrisville Samp Army then started off the chase in a positive manner as they collected 13 runs in the very first over but Gladiators' bowling unit quickly made a comeback as England pacer Richard Gleeson sent Charith Asalanka back in the hut for just 1 run in the second over. This was followed by a fall of wickets at regular intervals and Samp Army was pushed on the backfoot to eventually get restricted to 102/5.

Jack Taylor top-scored with 25* off 14 while wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous scored 22 off 14 and South Africa's star batter Faf du Plessis struck 21 off 10.

For Gladiators, Usman Tariq, Gleeson and David Wiese were among the wickets. Tariq returned with bowling figures of 2-19 in his two overs and played a major role in keeping a check on opponents' scoring rate. Gleeson and Wiese picked up one wicket each for the side.

Morrisville Samp Army are still not out of the competition as they will now take on the winner of Eliminator 2 in Qualifier 2. Deccan Gladiators will lock horns with the winner of Qualifier 2 in the title clash on Monday.