Abu Dhabi T10: Rahmanullah, Rutherford power Delhi Bulls to win over Northern Warriors

Rahmanullah Gurbaz's blitz and Sherfane Rutherford's late cameo helped Delhi Bulls defeat Northern Warriors in the opening match of the Abu Dhabi T10 League here at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

After being put into bat by the Delhi Bulls, the Warriors posted a competitive total of 107/4 in their 10 overs before breezy knocks from Gurbaz (30 runs off 10 balls) and Rutherford (29 runs off 15 balls) helped the Bulls chase down the total with one over to spare on Friday.

The Delhi Bulls got off to a great start as Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed Joshua Little for a six and a four off the first two deliveries of his team's innings. Gurbaz continued to provide the perfect impetus to the Bulls' innings as he cracked Imran Tahir for three consecutive sixes in the next over.

However, the Warriors didn't let the game slip away too quickly as Tahir trapped Gurbaz LBW for 30 runs (10 balls) in the second over and former India pacer Abhimanyu Mithun dismissed Rilee Rossouw for 6 runs (4 balls) in the very next over.

Rutherford took the responsibility and kept the Bulls in the game by smashing a six in each of the fourth and fifth overs, taking the score to 58/2 at the halfway stage.

Mohammad Hafeez also got into the groove, striking Chris Jordan for three boundaries in the sixth over. With 16 runs in the sixth over, the Bulls were in the driver's seat at 74/2.

Rutherford continued to find the boundaries as he smacked Little for a six and a four in the seventh over.

Joshua Little dismissed Rutherford (29 runs from 15 balls) on the last ball of the seventh over and Jordan removed Hafeez in the ninth over, but Rutherford kept his calm and took the Bulls home with two consecutive boundaries.

Brief Scores: Northern Warriors 107/4 (Moeen Ali 35, Rovman Powell 38; Shiraz Ahmed 1-16) vs Delhi Bulls 110/4 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 30, Mohammad Hafeez 31; Abhimanyu Mithun 1-16)

(ANI)