Abu Dhabi T10: Morgan pulls off a heist for Delhi Bulls

LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Captain Eoin Morgan's unbeaten 52 from 27 deliveries helped Delhi Bulls beat Deccan Gladiators by seven wickets at the Abu Dhabi T10 on Friday. (Photo by Ryan Lim)

Abu Dhabi - Morgan guides Delhi Bulls to a seven-wicket win over Deccan Gladiators with a brilliant half century

There couldn't be a better ambassador than Eoin Morgan for cricket's shortest format. The England captain has been with the T10 League since its inception. Things have changed over the three years - it has moved shop to Abu Dhabi and with the generous backing of Government entities, has now been rebranded as the Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10 League.
Morgan has joined a new team that has also been renamed as the Delhi Bulls and the 33-year-old is now a World Cup-winning captain with England. But one thing has remained constant, his pyrotechnics with the bat and his remarkable ability to conjure specials.
Morgan and T10 is like a duck takes to water and to that end, it was another day in office for the southpaw.
Morgan meshed the wheels back on a floundering chase with an unbeaten 52 from 27 deliveries with five boundaries and three sixes, to pull off another one of those heists.
In the end, the seven-wicket win with three balls to spare, over the Deccan Gladiators at the Zayed Cricket Stadium may have looked easy.
But it wasn't. The Bulls were sitting precariously at 28 for three before Morgan and Angelo Mathews joined forces.
A bit of luck too played a part after Morgan fired Fawad Ahmed down Bhanuka Rajapaksa's throat on the boundary line. Although Rajapaksa caught it and threw it back before taking it again, his feet had touched the ropes.
The Bulls were 72 for three in 7.1 overs with 23 needed from 12 deliveries at that moment and Morgan rode on that slice of luck to take his side across.
"I'm enjoying it," Morgan said when asked about how he continues to keep getting better in the format.
"I'm enjoying my cricket at the moment. I've just come in from New Zealand which was a successful series. Confidence is quite high and being a very experienced player, when confidence is high you need to make the most of it. Hopefully, I can continue to do it," he added.
Morgan's opposite number Shane Watson, who stroked an unbeaten 57 from 31 balls with five boundaries and two sixes, felt they came up a tad short in both batting and bowling.
"It was a little bit of both more than anything, but it would have been nice to get another 10 or 15 more," said Watson.

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