Pooran’s Northern Warriors win Abu Dhabi T10

Captained by Nicholas Pooran, Northern Warriors emerged champions of the Abu Dhabi T10 League for the second time, beating Dehli Bulls in the grand final on Saturday.

The left-hander did not get much with the bat in the championship game, but he struck the tournament’s biggest six, as Warriors overhauled a target of 82 in 8.2 overs with just two wickets down.

Batting first, Delhi Bulls, led by Dwayne Bravo, posted 81-9 in the allotted 10 overs with Mohammad Nabi hitting 21 off 10 and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz making 13 off seven.

Maheesh Theekshana was impressive with the ball, claiming 3-14, while Dhananjaya picked up 2-14 and Junaid Siddique 2-19.

In reply, Warriors reached 85-2 with opener Waseem Muhammad making 27 off 22, and Pooran, who opened the batting, endured a testing over from fellow West Indian Fidel Edwards in his 12 off nine.

West Indies players Rovman Powell and Lendl Simmons closed out the match, making 16* and 14* respectively. Edwards and Shiraz Ahmed returned identical figures of 1-18.

A total of 11 West Indians participated in the game.

For his 241 runs, the second most in the competition behind Sohail Akhtar’s 248, Pooran was named Player-of-the-Tournament.

Evin Lewis (216) and Lendl Simmons (211) were the other West Indians with over 200 runs in the competition, while Fabian Allen had the second most wickets (11) and Obed McCoy had the fourth most (10).