Abu Dhabi T10 League 2019: Team of the season

The third edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 League came to a close on 24th November as the Maratha Arabians clinched their maiden title courtesy of a dominating 8-wicket win over the Deccan Gladiators.

With both the Arabians and the Gladiators picking up two wins from three matches in the group stages, the two teams were certainly favourites to make the finals of the competition ahead of the Super League stages.

While the Arabians and the Qalandars took the top two spots from the Super League stage, the Deccan Gladiators and Bangla Tigers booked the last two spots in the playoffs, setting up an interesting set of clashes in the knockout stages.

Chris Lynn's 30-ball 67 took the Arabians straight to the finals post a 7-wicket win against the Qalandars in the first qualifier, while the Gladiators beat the Tigers in the eliminator match before triumphing over the Qalandars in the second qualifier to book their spot in the summit clash.

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However, the final turned out to be a lop-sided affair as the Arabians bowlers restricted the Gladiators to just 87-8 from 10 overs. A half-century from Chadwick Walton (26-ball 51*) helped the Arabians make short work of the 88-run target, chasing it down in just 7.2 overs to seal a comfortable win and with that, the Arabians' maiden T10 League title.

With the third edition of the T10 League producing some quality matches and unmatched entertainment, we take a look at the top players who form the team of the season.

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Openers - Chris Lynn and Shane Watson(C)

Chris Lynn is captured in action during his 91-run knock against Team Abu Dhabi

Chris Lynn - M: 8, Runs: 371, Avg: 53.00, SR: 236.30

Shane Watson - M:9, Runs: 237, Avg: 33.85, SR: 170.50

One of the most destructive openers in the game, Chris Lynn was at his absolute best and made quite a mark with his big-hitting, finishing with 371 runs from 8 matches at a strike rate of 236.30. Although he started slowly with just 24 runs from the first two matches, Lynn decimated Team Abu Dhabi in the 11th match of the season with a 30-ball 91* that set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

On the back of two more half-centuries in the group stages and a 30-ball 67 against the Qalandars in the first qualifier, he helped his side book a spot in the finals. Although Lynn scored just a 10-ball 16 in the summit clash, the Australian's proficiency at the top of the order was one of the highlights of the Arabians' title win.

Yet another Australian who made a big impact was Shane Watson, who accumulated 237 runs from 9 matches at a strike rate of 170.50 for the Deccan Gladiators. Watson began the tournament on a fine note, with a half-century against the Delhi Bulls followed by a match-winning 25-ball 41 against the Bangla Tigers.

While he fell for a rare duck against the Tuskers, he contributed with a vital 15-ball 30 in the 24-run win against the Qalandars and put up a top knock against the Northern Warriors as he smashed a 35-ball 75*, albeit in a losing cause.

Middle Order - Luke Wright, Rilee Rossouw(WK), Eoin Morgan

Luke Wright was a key player for Team Abu Dhabi

Luke Wright - M: 6, Runs: 208, Avg: 52, SR: 174.78

Rilee Rossouw - M: 8, Runs: 226, Avg: 37.66, SR: 189.91

Eoin Morgan - M:6, Runs: 175, Avg: 43.75, SR: 186.17

While Luke Wright and Rilee Rossouw opened the batting for their respective sides in the T10 League, both of them have also done well in the middle order throughout their careers and find their spots in this year's T10 League team of the season.

Wright, in particular, was an imperative part of Team Abu Dhabi as he amassed 208 runs from six matches and finished as the top run-getter for his side. Wright essayed quite a few match-winning knocks, notably the 23-ball 48 against the Northern Warriors, and a 30-ball unbeaten 57 against the Karnataka Tuskers.

Rilee Rossouw, who has plied his trade at the top of the order with his big-hitting played a key role in the Bangla Tigers' campaign as he made 226 runs at a fantastic strike rate of 189.91, including a 29-ball 55*, although this knock came in the Tigers' loss against the Gladiators in the eliminator match.

Delhi Bulls skipper Eoin Morgan also brought all his experience to the fore as the southpaw was one of the only consistent players for the Bulls, stitching together important knocks in the middle order that saw the Bulls put up challenging totals on the board.

Morgan was in top form right from the Bulls' opening game as he crafted a match-winning 27-ball 52* against the Gladiators and picked up his second half-century, a 28-ball 56, against the Northern Warriors.

Although the Englishman could pick up just 19 runs from his last two matches, the southpaw was undoubtedly one of the key players in the Bulls' campaign.

All-Rounders - Andre Russell, David Wiese

Andre Russell was at his destructive best for the Warriors

Andre Russell - M: 6, Runs: 163, SR: 185.22, Wkts: 6

David Wiese - M: 8, Runs: 39, SR: 205.26, Wkts: 7

No limited-overs format side is complete without the presence of a big-hitting all-rounder, and Andre Russell yet again proved why he is the best in the business. Featuring for the defending champions, Northern Warriors in this edition of the T10 League, Russell plundered the bowlers to all parts of the ground and finished with 163 runs from six matches at a strike rate of 185.22.

Russell stamped his dominance right from the season opener with a 24-ball 58* against the Maratha Arabians and followed it up with some quick cameos, contributing with vital runs in the slog overs. With the ball in hand, although he was expensive, Russell did pick up key wickets and overall was a key player for the Warriors.

Yet another all-rounder who impressed was 34-year old David Wiese, whose experience played a major part in the Bangla Tigers' wins this season as the all-rounder essayed some valuable cameos and troubled batsmen with the ball in crunch situations.

With the bat in hand, Wiese faced just 19 balls throughout the season but still managed to collect three fours and three sixes, giving his side the impetus in the death overs with some big-hitting.

On the bowling front, Wiese stuck to hitting the right line and length, mixing up his pace with some crafty off-cutters that brought about wickets at key moments. From 8 matches, Wiese finished with 7 wickets, including match-winning figures of 3/14 against the Northern Warriors that helped his side defend a moderate 103-run target.

Spinners - Qais Ahmad, Fawad Ahmed

Qais Ahmad finished as the third-highest wicket-taker from the season

Qais Ahmad - M: 7, Wkts: 9, ER: 9.15

Fawad Ahmed - M: 9, Wkts: 8, ER: 8.55

Wrist spinners are quite often the biggest weapons in most teams, a fact highlighted in this edition of the T10 League as Qais Ahmad and Fawad Ahmed impressed with some top-flight variations on the flat decks at Abu Dhabi.

Qais Ahmad, who played for the Bangla Tigers finished as the leading wicket-taker from the spin department this season with 9 wickets from 7 matches at an economy rate of 9.15.

Although he did not start the season too well and was carted for quite a few runs in his first two matches against the Gladiators (1/25) and Tuskers (0/17 from 1 over), Qais came back strong against the Bulls and finished with figures of 1/16. He produced his best against Team Abu Dhabi, registering magical figures of 3/8 from 2 overs that brought about a 27-run win for the Tigers.

Apart from young Qais, the Gladiators' Fawad Ahmed also played a big role in taking his team into the finals. From 9 matches, Ahmed finished with 8 wickets, but what was most impressive about the experienced spinner was his ability to stem the run flow, underlined by his economy rate of just 8.55.

Pacers - George Garton, Lahiru Kumara

Lahiru Kumara finished as the second-highest wicket-taker this season

George Garton - M: 9, Wkts: 12, ER: 10.25

Lahiru Kumara - M: 8, Wkts: 11, ER: 12.43

The Qalandars' campaign was highlighted by the efficiency of the team's bowling unit and the forefront of the pace attack was the duo of George Garton and Lahiru Kumara.

Hailing from Sussex, Garton made quite an impression with his left-arm fast bowling, finishing the season as the highest wicket-taker, with 12 scalps from 9 matches at an economy rate of 10.25.

While Garton did not start too well, his figures of 3/10 against the Northern Warriors was one of the turning points for the youngster as he then went on to pick up a wicket in each game that he played for the Qalandars, including impressive figures of 3/21 (v Gladiators), 2/9 (v Delhi Bulls) that helped his side make it to the playoffs.

Alongside Garton, Sri Lankan right-arm quick Lahiru Kumara also left quite a mark, ending the season with 11 wickets from 8 matches and although he was expensive with the ball, Kumara picked up important scalps in the middle and at the death, with figures of 3/10 against the Northern Warriors his best performance this season.