Abu Dhabi T10 League 2019: Maratha Arabians crowned champions of season 2
The Maratha Arabians crushed the Deccan Gladiators in the final of Abu Dhabi T10 League 2019 to emerge as the winners of the tournament. Chadwick Walton and Dwayne Bravo starred for the Arabians as they won the match by 8 wickets.
The champions had won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Mitchell McClenaghan (1/12) struck for the Arabians in the first over itself as he removed the dangerous Shane Watson (1). Lasith Malinga (1/18) got the better of Mohammad Shahzad (14) in the next over as both the Deccan openers were back in the hut in the mandatory powerplay.
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Daniel Lawrence (4) and Kieron Pollard (5) tried their best to get going in the middle however, Bravo (2/16) and Kasun Rajitha (1/15) claimed their wickets, respectively.
The Gladiators' innings finally took off in the second half as Bhanuka Rajapaksa (23) and Asif Ali (25*) built a good partnership. Ben Cutting (12) played a quick cameo but three successive run-outs on the last three balls of the innings kept the Gladiators down to 87/8.
Chasing a modest target of 88 runs, the Maratha Arabians got off to a flier as Walton (51*) scored a half-century. Chris Lynn (16) hit two sixes in his brief knock while Adam Lyth (2) could not contribute much to the team's score.
Najibullah Zadran (12*) and Walton guided the Arabians home with 2.4 overs to spare. The Afghan batsman finished off the chase in style with a six. Migael Pretorious (1/16) and Zahoor Khan (1/22) were the only Deccan bowlers who created some troubles for their opponents.
Chris Lynn was the star of Maratha Arabians' T10 League 2019 campaign as the Aussie batsman smashed 371 runs in the tournament. Skipper Dwayne Bravo had been leading wicket-taker for the side with 8 wickets while Yuvraj Singh and Lasith Malinga added much value to the side with their experience.