Australian opener Chris Lynn and his English counterpart Alex Hales engaged in a hilarious game of Rock-Papers-Scissors to apparently decide who will take the strike in Team Abu Dhabi's eliminator match against the Deccan Gladiators in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, December 3.
The 'duel' was eventually won by Hales, who actually scored just one run in three balls as his side were unable to chase down the 94 runs scored by their opponents in the first innings.
The Gladiators notched a comfortable win after blistering knocks of 32 runs in 15 balls from all-rounder Odean Smith. He was helped by David Wiese's 13 runs in nine balls after skipper Nicolas Pooran hit 14 runs in five balls. In response, Abu Dhabi could only post 89-8 in their 10 overs.
Meanwhile for Abi Dhabi, except for skipper Chris Lynn (13 off 5), James Vince (21 off 15) and Adil Rashid (18 off 9), none of their teammates could fire for their side.
The Gladiators then went on to beat Morrisville Samp Army in the second qualifier to book a place in the final of the tournament.
Earlier, the New York Strikers easily chased down a total of 81 runs set by Morrisville to book their place in the final. Led by Muhammad Waseem's unbeaten 36 runs in 16 balls, the side braved the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana (3/12) to chase down the target in 8.3 overs.
The third playoff match will take place between Team Abu Dhabi and Morrisville Samp Army, at 5:30 pm at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, after which New York Strikers and Deccan Gladiators to play in the final of the competition at the same venue.
Hales was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction but pulled out of the tournament. He then played some exceptional cricket with England during the T20 World Cup in Australia but again chose not to play in the IPL 2023 season.
