England's explosive batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored a quickfire unbeaten half-century in the run chase of 105 to lead Deccan Gladiators to an eight-wicket victory over Morrisville Samp Army in the final of Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024. Gladiators chased down the target in just 6.5 overs with eight wickets in hand as all the four batters had a strike rate of over 200.
Samp Army post below par total
In the final, Deccan Gladiators skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and opted to bowl first. Faf du Plessis hit Richard Gleeson for two fours and a six. Maheesh Theekshana drew first blood with the wicket of Sharjeel Khan. He was hit for a four and a six in the same over by Charith Asalanka. The Sri Lankan captain was dismissed run out in the next over. Andries Gous contributed with a nine-ball 21 cameo featuring two sixes and a four.
In the eighth over, Gleeson struck twice to dismiss Du Plessis and Jack Taylor. The South African opener scored 34 runs from 23 balls. In the penultimate over, Anrich Nortje dismissed captain Rohan Mustafa for a golden duck. Imad Wasim hit a six before falling to Ibrar Ahmad in the final over. Karim Janat took the score to 104/7 with two sixes in the last three balls.
Pooran-Cadmore go berserk
Kohler-Cadmore got the run chase off to a blazing start with four consecutive fours off Mustafa. In the second over, Pooran hit the first six of the innings. He targetted left-arm spinner Wasim and hit him for two sixes and a four. Isuru Udana broke the opening partnership in the fourth over with Pooran's wicket. The skipper contributed with a 10-ball 28 cameo. Rilee Rossouw did not take much time to settle and hit three fours in Udana's over.
Comfortable win for Gladiators
In the fifth over, Qais Ahmad took a beating as Cadmore hit him for two sixes and a four. In the sixth over, Koher-Cadmore hit another six to reach his fifty from 17 balls. Hamza dismissed Udana in the same over. On the fifth ball of the seventh over, Jos Buttler finished the run chase in style with a six as Deccan Gladiators won by eight wickets with 19 balls to spare.
This is the third time Deccan Gladiators won the title. They have emerged champions in two of the last three editions as well.
Kohler-Cadmore remains unsold in IPL auction
The 30-year-old Englishman went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. He played for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the last edition scoring 48 runs from three innings.
