Southern Brave (SOB) reached the playoffs after a six-wicket victory over Oval Invincibles (OVI) at home. It was a comprehensive performance from the Southampton-based franchise, who also extended their unbeaten run to six games in the tournament. Jake Lintott picked up three wickets, while Alex Davies and Colin de Grandhomme stitched together an unbeaten 67-run stand to help them chase down a target of 135 with five balls to spare.
After winning the toss, Southern Brave put Oval Invincibles into bat. Both teams were unchanged from their respective last fixtures.
Will Jacks and Jason Roy gave a dream start for Oval Invincibles. The duo piled up 42 runs in the first 15 balls, with Jacks scoring more than 80% of the runs. The 22-year-old took Tymal Mills to the cleaners twice and scored 14 runs off Danny Briggs’ first set of five. Roy faced just four balls.
George Garton, who conceded ten runs off his opening set, provided two breakthroughs in quick succession. Jacks was caught at the boundary by Lintott, while Colin Ingram gave an easy catch for Quinton de Kock. Oval Invincibles were 56/2 at the end of the powerplay.
The spin duo Briggs and Lintott struck in the space of 11 balls as they removed Roy and Sam Billings. At the halfway point of the innings, Southern Brave successfully reviewed a caught-behind decision against Laurie Evans. From 46/0, the visitors slipped to 76/5.
Oval Invincibles continued to plunge further when Sunil Narine holed out to Davies at the midwicket boundary. Kent’s Alex Blake hit a four and six off Jordan’s second set of five, but they lost Tom Curran before reaching the three-figure mark. Blake kept fighting and ensured his side posted a decent total at the end of 100 balls.
Chasing 134, Southern Brave saw both their openers depart within the first 15 balls. De Kock, who smashed successive fours off Saqib Mahmood, was dismissed courtesy of a stunning catch from Roy. Meanwhile, Curran grabbed the wicket of Paul Stirling.
A mix-up between Davies and James Vince resulted in Southern Brave losing the wicket of their captain. In a surprise move, Garton came to bat ahead of Grandhomme and Ross Whiteley. He hit two sixes and quickly moved to 23. However, Garton dismissed run-out when he fell short at the non-striker’s end after trying to snatch an extra run off a misfield. Southern Brave needed 67 from 47 balls.
Grandhomme joined Davies at the crease. The pair kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles. The Kiwi all-rounder hit his first six in the tournament. Meanwhile, the match was slowly drifting away from Oval Invincibles. Tabraiz Shamsi gave away ten runs in his final set of five, leaving Southern Brave to get 20 from 15 balls.
Mahmood kept his team in the hunt after conceding just five off his set of five. Also, the partnership crossed the half-century mark. Davies put the crowd on their feet as he hit a six off Topley to seal Southern Brave a spot in the playoffs
OVI 134/7 in 100 balls (A Blake 44; J Lintott 3/14, G Garton 2/22)
SOB 135/4 in 95 balls (C de Grandhomme 40*, A Davies 40*; T Curran 1/8)
Player of the Match
With the crucial wickets of Oval Invincibles captain Billings and Evans, who produced a match-winning 67 against London Spirit, Lintott ensured that the visitors would have to settle for a low score. He conceded just 14 runs and didn’t concede a boundary or six. It was the perfect performance from the left-arm spinner.
Top Fantasy XI
J Lintott (93 pts), G Garton (81 pts), A Davies (57 pts), A Blake (56 pts), W Jacks (54 pts), C de Grandhomme (48 pts), T Curran (40 pts), D Briggs (37 pts), Q de Kock (31 pts), C Jordan (29 pts), R Topley (27 pts)
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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