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That's all from this highly entertaining game. This is Dwaipayan Mukherjee, signing off alongside Darwin Tikiya. We will see you soon.
Liam Livingstone : Very special, we needed it. They are a great team, a very well balanced team so glad to get the job done against them. I tried to get used to the pitch. Wanted to take down their spinners as much as we could. Plans went as per my strategy. I actually have a very nice record against Rashid. I do not read him pretty well so I planned to stick to my strengths, I knew he would be attacking the stumps. Glad to see my plan paid off tonight. Hopefully, this win can put us on track for a great season ahead.
9:22 PM local time, 1:52 AM IST: Birmingham Phoenix (182 for 6) defeat Oval Invincibles (180 for 8) by 4 wickets
3rd highest run chase in the history of the competition. Birmingham Phoenix get their first points of the competition. If there's one thing that the shortest format of the game keeps teaching us, it's that no one is out of the game till the very last ball. So much has happened but let us take you through the events as they unfolded.
Jason Behrendorff found some early movement. The lanky Aussie put it in the right areas, not allowing any easy runs in what was a very neat start to the chase. Having only conceded a solitary run off his first 5 balls, Sam Billings asked him to go on and send down the first 10 balls of the 2nd innings. Ben Duckett's struggles in this competition prolonged as Saqib Mahmood dislodged the woodwork behind the left handed Phoenix opener.
Joe Clarke scored 36 from 27 balls in that underwhelming batting performance by Phoenix against the Southern Brave. In the opening game against Trent Rockets, he got into a bit of a rut with a 34 ball 29 run outing. He took early charge to provide some acceleration in this chase. Rashid Khan was introduced into the attack straight after the power play. He revels in situations like these where batters are forced to take that extra risk against him owing to that inflated required run rate which was only increasing exponentially.
But Will Smeed and Joe Clarke handed him some unusual, disdainful treatment as we saw the star leggie getting rendered ineffective. The mediocrity with ball in hand, however, was more than compensated for with some brilliant fielding by Rashid Khan who put an end to Clarke's 27 run innings that only consumed 14 balls. Will Smeed converted a slow start into an innings of note. But as soon as he brought up his half century, he was cleaned up by Nathan Sowter, much to the delight of skipper Sam Billings behind the stumps who exulted verbally at the fall of the big wicket. Misfields did not help the cause for the Oval Invincibles as Phoenix made valuable inroads into the hunt.
With 61 needed from 25 balls, the match looked like it was firmly in the grasp of the fielding side. But Livingstone had other plans. He tore Rashid Khan apart in his final set of 5 balls that saw the Afghan star endure his worst ever figures in the history of the competition. 4,6,6,6,4 - yes, you read that right. Rashid Khan's previous worst figures were none for 40 but today he completed his day after leaking 59 runs.
A superlative innings from the Phoenix skipper, with unbelievable power and a touch of arrogance, replete with all his trademark shots, the boundaries drilled through extra cover, the leg side sixes that only allowed fielders to look over their shoulder on a night when there was absolutely no stopping. This might as well go down as one of the top knocks of this competition.
19.3 Saqib Mahmood to Benny Howell, PUTS IT AWAY! FOUR! What an end to a thrilling game of cricket. It ebbed and flowed like a rollercoaster, entertaining us at every bend. And in the end, it is the Phoenix who notch up their first win. Team Oval, not Invincible anymore. Full one at the off pole. Howell kept it simple. Brought down a straight bat and caressed it through extra cover. Edgbaston erupted.
Benny Howell batting at 8th position
Louis Kimber has been dismissed for 0 runs off 1 balls
19.2 Saqib Mahmood to Louis Kimber, BOWLED! Invincibles are still in it. An accurate yorker from Mahmood. He is keeping it simple. Kimber plunged the bat down but was a fraction too late. The furniture was disturbed and now we are down to 3 runs off 3 balls. Mahmood on a hat-trick.
Louis Kimber batting at 7th position
Dan Mousley has been dismissed for 11 runs off 11 balls
19.1 Saqib Mahmood to Dan Mousley, OUT! LBW! Mousley reviews. Attempted yorker, looked pretty straight. Mousley played all around it. He took a step to the off side and tried to whip it leg side, but failed to lay bat on ball. Ball-tracker suggest that it would have been only clipping the off peg. "Umpire's call" means that he has to go. They don't lose the review though.
What a knock by Livingstone. Unfathomable.
19.0
18.5 Tom Curran to Liam Livingstone, attempted yorker, ends up being a full toss outside off. Livingstone mistimes it towards long-off and gets only a run. 3 to win off 5 balls now.
18.4 Tom Curran to Liam Livingstone, pinpoint yorker! But Livingstone still manages to squeeze it towards long-on and pick two. It's his night after all.
18.3 Tom Curran to Liam Livingstone, SWINGS HARD... GETS ENOUGH! SIX MORE! Only 6 more needed. Slower ball on a hard length. Nothing hard for Livingstone right now though. He fetched it from outside off, swatting it over the midwicket boundary.
18.2 Tom Curran to Liam Livingstone, PUMMELLED FOR SIX! Even shorter from Curran. The batter stood firm and swatted it over square leg.
18.1 Tom Curran to Liam Livingstone, THUMPED FOR FOUR! Good length ball outside off. Livingstone smacked the cover off the ball there. The ball went racing to the cover boundary.
22 runs needed from 10 balls : You would like to believe that Livingstone has to go if Oval are to win this game. Who will do it? Who will bell the cat?
18.0
17.5 Sam Curran to Dan Mousley, full and wide. Mousley charged and failed to lay bat on ball. Dot ball!
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