Birmingham Phoenix (BPH) grabbed a six-wicket against Oval Invincibles (OVI) at Edgbaston cricket ground. Chasing 172, Moeen Ali and Will Smeed scored 49 and 45, respectively, while Chris Benjamin steered Birmingham Phoenix home with an unbeaten 16-ball 37. Colin Ingram’s excellent knock of 81 went in vain.
After choosing to bowl first, Birmingham Phoenix bowlers Adam Milne and Imran Tahir conceded just three runs in the first ten balls. Will Jacks, who scored successive fours in Milne’s second set of five, perished in Pat Brown’s first ball. Meanwhile, Jason Roy smashed Moeen for a six and struck boundaries off Tahir, Tom Helm, and Brown. Ingram, too, managed to find gaps.
Benny Howell struck to break the 45-run partnership in the 48th ball. He cleaned up Roy for 38. In-form Sam Billings joined Ingram at the crease. Both of them went after the Birmingham Phoenix bowlers. Oval Invincibles, who were 77/2 in 55 balls, added 63 runs in the next 30 deliveries. Ingram brought up his half-century, while Billings, too, made a small but significant contribution.
Brown claimed his second wicket to dismiss Billings for 24 but couldn’t keep Ingram quiet. The visitors scored 32 runs from the last 15 balls to post a mammoth 174/4 in 100 balls. The South African batsman equaled the best individual score in the Hundred men’s competition – 81*.
Birmingham Phoenix made a rampant start with Finn Allen scoring four boundaries off Saqib Mahmood. He was dropped twice in Mahmood’s second set of five. However, the 22-year-old got himself dismissed after inadvertently dislodging the bails. Liam Livingstone, at No. 3, lasted five balls as he holed out to Laurie Evans. Birmingham Phoenix found themselves in trouble – 45/2 in 26 balls.
Smeed was unfazed by the situation and smacked two sixes in Narine’s second set of five, while Reece Topley dropped a sitter to give Moeen a life. The Birmingham Phoenix captain took full advantage of it, hitting a six and a four in Tabraiz Shamsi’s ten-ball spell.
Birmingham Phoenix lost their third wicket when Smeed mistimed a full-toss from Mahmood and gave an easy catch for Narine. The fall of wicket didn’t unsettle Moeen, who hammered three consecutive sixes and moved to 49. Mahmood sent him back to the pavilion, with Birmingham Phoenix still needing 35 from 28 balls.
Chris Benjamin, the wicketkeeper-batsman, guided the home side to a victory with quickfire innings. He struck a boundary in Shamsi and Narine’s final set of five and finished the game courtesy of a six and four off Topley.
OVI 172/3 in 100 balls (C Ingram 81*, J Roy 38; P Brown 2/34)
BPH 174/4 in 94 balls (M Ali 49; W Smeed 45; C Benjamin 37* S Mahmood 2/34)
Player of the Match
Moeen, after failed to make an impact with the ball, hit a fantastic 49 and put his side in a comfortable position. He came to the crease when two quality batters departed without adding much to the scorecard. The England international let 19-year-old Smeed take on bowlers and handed the strike to him. Once Smeed’s dismissal, he took the lead and demolished Shamsi, Tom Curran, and Narine.
Top Fantasy XI
C Ingram (109 pts), W Smeed (65 pts), M Ali (64 pts), S Mahmood (54 pts), P Brown (54 pts), J Roy (49 pts), C Benjamin (48 pts), B Howell (42 pts), S Narine (33 pts), S Billings (32 pts), F Allen (32 pts)
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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