165/7 (19.3)
CR : 8.46
163/5 (20.0)
CR : 8.15
Welsh Fire won by 3 wickets
Player of the Match
Glenn Phillips
80(35)
19.1
0
B Wheal to Q Ahmad
DOT!!!!! It's like a gem at the moment. Length outside off, Ahmad swings hard but misses.
19.2
4
B Wheal to Q Ahmad
FOUR!!!!! Now he connects!!! Length again, paced on angling away. The batter put some bat to it as he cuts it through backward point for a boundary to the vacant third man.
19.3
4
B Wheal to Q Ahmad
FOUR MORE!!!! The game is over!!!! No third man and Ahmad uses it with some intelligence!!! Fire finish the league stage with a win. Pride saved! Back of a length outside off. The batter reads the length early as he hangs back and upper cuts it between the gap between the keeper and short third for a nail hammering boundary!
DG: That is the end of the game! What a cracker we have witnessed here. Welsh Fire have trounced over the London Spirit and have won this nail-biter by 3 wickets. Credit to Glenn Phillips, who was simply outstanding with the bat in hand and tore apart the Spirit bowling attack. With that loss, Spirit finish at the bottom of the points table in the inaugural edition of Men's Hundred.
DG: Chasing a tricky total of 164, Fire were off to a 'HORRENDOUS' start, losing three wickets in quick succession. It almost looked done and dusted and Eoin Morgan's troops were right on top of their game. Then came out Glenn Phillips to bat and he looked in a ruthless mode, right from the word go. The swashbuckling batter tore apart the opposition bowling attack and bludgeoned his way to a towering 80 off just 35 deliveries.
DG: His dismissal brought a mini collapse and the Spirit looked like a side willing to pounce on it. But Josh Cobb had some other plans. Generally known for his bowling exploits, Cobb turned it on with his batting prowess and scored a quick fire 15-ball 28 to steer his side past the victory ropes.
Time for the presentation ceremony.
Glenn Phillips | Man of the Match: The hundred was on my mind, but we have a team-first mentality. Qais managed to finish it with a couple of balls to go, so we're happy. Great to have so many people. It was nice and loud from the crowd. I just watch it and hit it, the more I think, the worse it is. Josh batted really well in the first innings, but it quickened up under lights, and we made the most of it. It's taken time to get used to, the 10-ball sets, but it'll evolve over time.
Ben Duckett | Welsh Fire skipper: It's great to have a full crowd and it was great to put on a game like that for them. It could have been worse in the first half. They were around par, but we started the chase well, and the guys in the end did well to finish it off. No one wants to finish at the bottom, and it was a chance for people lile Higgins to come in and show what they can do. It was important to finish this on a high. The atmosphere and the standard of cricket has been great and it was a pleasure to be a part of the Hundred this year.
That was all for the coverage of this game. Do join us on Friday for the Eliminators (for both Men and Women). Till then, ta-ta and a goodnight from me, Anurag Dasgupta and my co-commentator, Arjun Bhalla.