The former South African captain Faf du Plessis continued his success with the bat in Abu Dhabi as the Morrisville Samp Army opener struck an unbeaten 76 runs in 26 balls to help his side to their fourth straight win of the season. On the back of his fabulous innings, the Samp Army managed to chase down the total of 104 set up by Chennai Brave Warriors, with 9 wickets in hand.

Earlier, Chennai Brave Warriors were helped to a solid total of 104/6 in their 10 overs, with Dan Lawrence playing a fiery innings of 57 runs in 25 balls. The right-handed batter struck four sixes and five fours after a slow start and anchored his side to a good position in the game, despite an economical bowling effort from Samp Army bowlers.

In reply Morrisville suffered an early blow with Sharjeel Thomas getting dismissed cheaply. But Faf began to find gaps all over the park, and with support from Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka (17* off 8balls), he managed to complete the chase with three overs to spare.

Deccan Gladiators continue to entertain Abu Dhabi

It was an all-round performance from the two-time Champions Deccan Gladiators with allrounder Rilee Rossouw leading the charge with the bat, smashing 61 off 24 balls to help his side to a solid total of 128/3 in 10 overs. Jos Buttler played a solid supporting role in the death overs, hammering  an unbeaten 19 off 7 balls.

In reply, New York Strikers top-order stumbled with Luke Wood picking up three wickets in his first two overs with the new ball. Ibrar Ahmad’s double-wicket over further placed Gladiators in control, as they restricted the opposition to 60/7 in 10 overs, winning the match by 68 runs.