They were off to a flying start as opener and England batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore took on skipper Rohan Mustafa in the very first over. Cadmore smashed four fours on the trot to begin the chase in first over while his opening partner and skipper Nicholas Pooran joined the party soon.

Pooran who hails from West Indies dominated Pakistan spinner Imad Wasim as Gladiators collected 20 runs in third over and went past the 50-run mark. The left-handed batter was eventually dismissed for 28 off 10 by pacer Isuru Udana after Mustafa took a blinder in the deep but that didn’t really help Samp Army as Cadmore continued with his aggressive batting display and notched up a fifty.

Earlier, Morrisville Samp Army never really got the start they wanted and lost wickets in regular succession to get reduced to 81/5. It was a late surge from Afghanistan’s Karim Janat who chipped in with 16 off 8 in final overs of the innings that took the total to 104/7 in 10 overs. Faf du Plessis top-scored with 34 off 23 while wicket-keeper batter Andries Gous struck 21 off 9. England pacer Richard Gleeson returned with figures of 2/16 in two overs for Deccan Gladiators.

Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan’s speech during mid innings became the highlight of the day. Spectators at Zayed Cricket Stadium also got to witness an electrifying performance from Elnaaz Norouzi during the title clash.