Abu Dhabi, Nov 22 (IANS): Team Abu Dhabi made it three wins from as many outings with a dramatic four-wicket victory over Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Chasing 98 runs, Danny Briggs (19 not out from 13 balls) held his nerves to hit a last-ball match-winning six as Andre Russel's foot touched the boundary rope.
In the first of the three matches of the day, Abu Dhabi won the toss and elected to bowl first. Fidel Edwards and Naveen-ul-Haq took two wickets apiece. From struggling at 18/5, Hasaranga de Silva (30 runs from 18 balls) and Odean Smith (34 runs from 11 balls) took the Warriors to 97/9.
In their chase, Team Abu Dhabi slipped to 51/5. Spinner Hasaranga de Silva took 4 wickets while Jamie Overton and Briggs kept Abu Dhabi in the hunt. With two overs remaining, Abu Dhabi were still 31 runs short before Overton took 17 from Russell's penultimate over.
Overton added nine from the first five balls of the last over bowled by Hamid Hassan. The bowler got injured. Anwar Ali replaced him to bowl his first delivery of the match to Briggs. Needing five runs from the last ball, Briggs launched Anwar over square-leg but looked to have not cleared Russell on the boundary until television replays showed that the all-rounder was in contact with the boundary rope as he threw the ball back into play.
"It was a tight game that ebbed and flowed all the way through and Jamie played exceptionally well at the end there to get us close," said Briggs.
"That was a crazy last over in the end, with a new bowler bowling the last ball and I just hope that he missed and I hit. It was nowhere near the middle of the bat and it went fairly high and far enough in the end. Once we saw a couple of replays it was fairly clear and it's nice to get over the line and stay unbeaten in this competition," Briggs added.
Overton was picked as the player of the match.
In the second match, Delhi Bulls defeated Chennai Braves by five wickets to secure their third win of the tournament.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored a fifty (64 not out from 31 balls) and Mark Deyal (29 runs from 19 balls) helped the Braves put 124/2. In reply, Dwayne Bravo (43 runs from 17 balls) played a captain's knock and Eoin Morgan chipped in (26 runs from 12 balls) to reach the target with two balls to spare. Bravo was named the player of the match.
In the last match, Bangla Tigers registered their first points after beating Northern Warriors by five wickets.
The Warriors set a total of 126/4. Rovman Powell hit a fifty (63 runs from 27 balls) and was supported by Moeen Ali (24 runs from 12 balls) and Samit Patel (21 not out from 13 balls). While chasing, Will Jacks smashed a fifty (57 not out from 22 balls) and with Benny Howell (35 not out from 11 balls) got to the target in 9.1 overs. Jacks was named the player of the match.
Brief scores:
Deccan Gladiators: 97/9 (10 overs), Odean Smith (34), Hasaranga de Silva (30), Fidel Edwards (2 for 10), Naveen-ul-Haq (2 for 25); Team Abu Dhabi: 99/6 (10 overs), Jamie Overton (33 not out), Danny Briggs (19 not out), Hasaranga de Silva (4 for 12).
Chennai Braves: 124/2 (10 overs), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (64 not out), Mark Deyal (29), Ravi Bopara (19); Delhi Bulls: 128/5 (9.4 overs), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (26), Dwayne Bravo (43), Eoin Morgan (26 not out), Munaf Patel (2 for 20), Roman Walker (2 for 25).
Northern Warriors: 126/4 (10 overs), Rovman Powell (63), Moeen Ali (24), Luke Wood (1 for 18); Bangla Tigers: 130/5 (9.1 overs), Will Jacks (57 not out), Benny Howell (35 not out), Umair Ali (1 for 9).