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That would be all from this contest that puts the points table in an interesting position. This is Dwaipayan Mukherjee, signing off with my co-commentator, Karthik Raj. We will see you soon!
Ben Kellaway (Hero of the Match): "Making my debut was special in itself. To come out and contribute to the team in a win is amazing. The lads have been great, the results haven't been fantastic but the atmosphere is brilliant. Couple of wickets, couple of catches. It was nice. (On what the mindset is going to be for the team going forward) Similar to what we have had. Keep playing hard and keep playing positive cricket. Have to see what the math does, keep taking it game by game."
Ben Kellaway has been named as the 'Hero of the Match'
9.00 PM Local Time, 1:30 AM IST : Welsh Fire (140 for 2) have defeated Birmingham Phoenix (138 for 9) by 8 wickets
Steve Smith - 47* (36) | Benny Howell - 1/17 Stephen Eskinazi - 42 (29) | Adam Milne - 1/32
The average first innings score here was 143. The average first innings winning score was 171. 11 games had been won by the chasing side as opposed to only 7 wins for the teams batting first. These stats painted a picture even before the chase started. Eskinazi gained an edge over Boult tonight. He drove beautifully when the ball was full and comprehensively pulled as well when the length got shorter.
He put a dent on the Phoenix opening bowlers, including Adam Milne. Smith did not lag too behind either when it came to shot making as the visitors raced away to 41 in the powerplay. It developed into an evening where Fire's openers hardly put a foot wrong in their bid to establish their team's authority in the contest.
Phoenix tried all cards that they had up their sleeves but the opening stand covered more than half of the target. It took a sharp caught and bowled effort by Benny Howell to break the 72 run stand which got Jonny Bairstow to the crease. Liam Livingstone indulged in a bit of banter with Jonny Bairstow, calling him boring for not engaging in any aggressive shots. Tim Southee's introduction very late into the piece almost led to Steve Smith's downfall but it was inches short of the fielder at the fine leg boundary.
Moments later, the Aussie went past his season best score of 29. Bairstow was in the mood to complete this early and go home to watch some Premier League action. The pair of Bairstow and Smith executed some good running between the wickets. They didn't only rely on the boundaries but also did the basic, hard grind of scampering across for 2 runs, exerting pressure on the fielders and eventually creating that mistake that made their running easier.
In the end, it was all too easy. This win keeps Welsh Fire in the reckoning for a qualification, although the chances are very slender.
17.4 Tim Southee to Tom Abell, FOUR! WELSH FIRE WIN! Length delivery outside-off, Abell looks to steer it through third while he gets an under-edge. The ball races to the left of third and reaches the fence for a boundary. With that, the Welsh Fire seal a convincing 8-wicket win with 11 balls to spare!
17.3 Tim Southee to Steven Smith, short of a length and angling in, Smith heaves it to deep square-leg for a single.
17.2 Tim Southee to Steven Smith, FOUR! Short of a length outside-off, Smith swipes it through mid-wicket for a boundary. Just another boundary away from a dominant win!
17.1 Tim Southee to Tom Abell, length delivery angling into the stumps, Abell pushes it to mid-on and completes a single.
9 runs needed from 15 balls : Smith is into the 40s.
17.0
16.5 Adam Milne to Steven Smith, full outside-off, Smith whips it to deep mid-wicket for a single.
16.4 Adam Milne to Steven Smith, SIX! Length delivery angling in, Smith uses his wrists and whips it over deep backward square-leg for a maximum.
16.3 Adam Milne to Tom Abell, length delivery outside-off, Abell looks to push it through the covers but he ends up with an inside-edge to square-leg. Single taken.
Tom Abell batting at 4th position
Jonny Bairstow has been dismissed for 35 runs off 21 balls
16.2 Adam Milne to Jonny Bairstow, KNOCKED OVER! GREAT RIPOSTE! In-swinging yorker from Milne, Bairstow looks to shank it through mid-wicket but he misses as the ball goes onto strike the base of the off-stump!
16.1 Adam Milne to Jonny Bairstow, ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE! Length delivery outside-off, Bairstow slogs it way over deep square-leg for a maximum. A 90-meter hit!
Adam Milne is back into the attack!
This has been some good running between the wickets. Fire haven't only relied on the boundaries but also did the basic, hard grind of scampering across for 2 runs, exerting pressure on the fielders and eventually creating that mistake that made their running easier.
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