Joe Clarke and Liam Livingstone produced the two standout innings of the day as United Tigers and Arabian Aces both recorded comfortable wins on day seven of the Abu Dhabi T10 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Clarke’s 77 from 26 balls earned him the player-of-the-match award as the Tigers posted 165 for 2 and beat Royal Desert Champions by 19 runs. The Champions’ chase was kept alive almost single-handedly by Nicholas Pooran, who smashed 63 from just 21 balls with three fours and eight sixes, but the rest of the batting folded around him. Brandon King fell for 8, Muhammad Waseem made 12 and Sherfane Rutherford 10, and Faheem Ashraf’s superb spell of 3 for 11 from two overs, including a maiden, broke the back of the innings.
The Champions still finished with a flourish. Keemo Paul, unbeaten on 28 from nine balls, took 27 runs from the final over bowled by Odean Smith, hitting three sixes and two fours in an over that read 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1. But the damage had been done long before, and the Champions closed on 146 for 6, still 19 runs short. It was the Tigers’ latest win in a strong campaign, while the Champions were left to rue a top order that left Pooran with too much to do on his own.
In the second match of the day, Livingstone’s unbeaten 55 from 15 balls powered Arabian Aces to 131 for 4 before their bowlers restricted Emirates Eagles to 94 for 8, a 37-run victory. Livingstone, who also bowled tidily for 0 for 11, was named player of the match as the Aces’ total proved far beyond the Eagles, whose chase never got going and ended with Trent Boult unbeaten on 0 from five balls and Hardus Viljoen on 6 from six.
The two results continued a tournament that has produced a winner every night since it began on November 7, with the six franchises playing under new 10-year licences. The Champions had beaten Yas Lions by 39 runs on Friday through Brandon King’s 66 from 28 balls, but they could not back it up a day later despite Pooran’s fireworks. The Tigers, meanwhile, have now beaten the Champions twice in the competition, having also won the reverse fixture earlier in the week.
The league stage continues on Sunday, when Royal Desert Champions face Arabian Aces, with the final scheduled for November 20. With the points table tightening and every match carrying ten overs of high drama, the race for the play-off places is set up for a frantic final week in Abu Dhabi.
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