The Abu Dhabi T10 was introduced in 2017, where six teams participated in the inaugural edition.
These six teams were Kerala Kings, Maratha Arabians, Pakhtoons, Punjabi Legends, Team Sri Lanka and Bengal Tigers.
Kerala Kings came out on top in the six-team affair, defeating Punjabi Legends by eight wickets in the final. Kings’ skipper Eoin Morgan played a fine knock of 63 runs off 21 balls to guide his team to glory in the first season.
Punjabi Legends’ batter Luke Ronchi finished as the top run-scorer with 197 runs. Three bowlers, Sohail Tanvir, Rayad Emrit and Hasan Ali topped the wicket-taking charts with five wickets each.
The following edition saw three new teams getting introduced to expand the tournament to an eight-team event as Team Sri Lanka was excluded after just one campaign.
The Sindhis, Rajputs and Northern Warriors competed with the five teams from the first season for the elusive trophy.
Nonetheless, debutants Northern Warriors emerged victorious in the second season.
The Darren Samm-led side got the better of Pakhtoons by 22 runs in the summit clash courtesy of Rovman Powell’s fantastic knock of 61*.
The winning team’s Nicholas Pooran led the scoring charts with 324 runs as South African pacer Hardus Viljoen finished as the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps.
In the third season, the number of participants remained unchanged. However, The Sindhis, Bengal Tigers and Pakhtoons were replaced by newly-formed Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls and Bangla Tigers.
The third edition saw Maratha Arabians win the title, overcoming newcomers Deccan Gladiators by eight wickets in the final.
Chadwick Walton’s half-century won it for the Arabians in a low-scoring contest.
The icon player of the winning side, Chris Lynn, smashed 371 runs in that edition, which remains the most runs scored by an individual in a single season of Abu Dhabi T10.
Northern Warriors clinched their second title in three seasons when they won the Abu Dhabi T10 2021.
It was yet again a low-scoring finale as Delhi Bulls were restricted to 81/9 in 10 overs courtesy of Maheesh Theekshana’s disciplined spell of 3/14. Thereafter, the target was comfortably reached with 10 balls to spare.
While Qalandars’ Sohail Akhtar scored 248 runs to lead the scoring list, Team Abu Dhabi’s Jamie Overton took the most wickets in the tournament (12).
The last two seasons have seen Deccan Gladiators lift the trophy each time out.
The fifth season saw a new team, The Chennai Braves, compete in the fastest format of the game. It was a six-team competition as Maratha Arabians, Qalandars and Pune Devils did not participate.
The Wahab Riaz-led Deccan Gladiators were ruthless in the final against Delhi Bulls as they posted a total of 159/0 in 10 overs, with big-hitter Andre Russel playing a blinder of a knock, smashing 90* off just 32 balls.
In the end, they registered a 56-run win to bag their maiden title.
Deccan Gladiators then became the first team to win back-to-back ADT10 titles.
Back to an eight-team competition, with two debutants New York Strikers and Morrisville Samp Army, the former made it to the final where they locked horns with defending champions Deccan Gladiators.
On this occasion, the Gladiators won by 37 runs in the final to add another title to their cabinet.
Abu Dhabi T10 winners list
Season | Year | Winners | Runners-up |
1 | 2017 | Kerala Kings | Punjabi Legends |
2 | 2018 | Northern Warriors | Pakhtoons |
3 | 2019 | Maratha Arabians | Deccan Gladiators |
4 | 2021 | Northern Warriors | Delhi Bulls |
5 | 2021-22 | Deccan Gladiators | Delhi Bulls |
6 | 2022 | Deccan Gladiators | New York Strikers |
Featured image: Abu Dhabi T10