Quinton de Kock powered Southern Brave (SOB) to their third win in four games after his unbeaten 72 helped them beat Northern Superchargers (NOS) by five wickets in match 21 of the Hundred. The Southern Brave bowling attack restricted the visitors to 128 after being asked to bowl first. De Kock struck a fine half-century and saw them home with five balls remaining in the match.
George Garton dismissed Adam Lyth in the first ball to give Southern Brave a dream start. The other opener Chris Lynn got off the mark with a boundary in Garton’s 10-ball spell. He scored fours off Paul Stirling and David Willey, promoted himself to No. 3, hit a four and six off Jake Lintott. Northern Superchargers moved to 47/1 in 35 balls.
James Vince threw the ball to Chris Jordan for the first time in the match. The all-rounder found the breakthrough immediately, removing Lynn for 26. Willey and Harry Brook, who stitched together 62 runs for the third wicket against London Spirit, were dismissed in the space of four balls. It was the spin duo Briggs and Lintott who picked up the crucial wickets.
Northern Superchargers were four down when John Simpson departed for 3. Dane Vilas and Ben Raine made a 38-run partnership and lifted the visitors to 116/6 in 90 balls. They couldn’t find a boundary or six at the death and managed just 12 runs in the last ten balls. Vilas remained unbeaten on 35.
Southern Brave made a change in the opening pair as Stirling replaced Vince. The Irish batsman scored seven runs off his first two balls and hit a six and boundary in Matty Potts' second set of five. Pacer Brydon Carse sent Stirling back to the pavilion in his first ball of the match. Southern Brave lost their second wicket when captain Vince fell for 8
De Kock and Alex Davies put together an excellent stand, and the South African brought up his half-century with a boundary in the 66th ball. A clever delivery from Rashid broke the partnership as the spinner got Davies stumped for 14. Meanwhile, de Kock struck a boundary off Rashid’s penultimate ball in the last set of five. Southern Brave needed just 22 runs from 25 balls.
Lyth came to bowl and grabbed two wickets in three balls. The Northern Superchargers opening batsman cleaned up Ross Whiteley and Colin de Grandhomme. However, a six each from de Kock and Jordan sealed the match for Southern Brave.
NOS 128/6 in 100 balls (D Vilas 35, C Lynn 26; D Briggs 2/28)
SOB 131/5 in 95 balls (Q de Kock 72*; A Rashid 2/19, A Lyth 2/23)
Player of the Match
De Kock ended Southern Brave fans' wait for a quality knock from the wicketkeeper-batsman. He unsettled Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who conceded just six runs in 20 balls against London Spirit, with two boundaries in the Afghanistan international's first set of five. As Southern Brave was chasing a modest target, he focused on rotating the strike than risking his wicket with big shots.
The 28-year-old, who reached his half-century in 31 balls, pounced on poor deliveries and ensured the asking rate didn't climb up at any point during the run-chase. With 14 needed from 11 balls, de Kock cleared the rope and took them close to a third win in the 100-ball tournament.
Top Fantasy XI
Q de Kock (103 pts), A Rashid (58 pts), A Lyth (54 pts), D Briggs (54 pts), C Jordan (49 pts), B Carse (43 pts), D Vilas (42 pts), A Davies (35 pts), C Lynn (34 pts), T Mills (33 pts), D Willey (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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