10:11 PM IST, 5:41 PM Local Time: Manchester Super Giants gave their faithful a day to remember, first with a thoroughly entertaining exhibition of six-hitting towards the back end of their innings, and then with the ball, with their fast bowling outfit of Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue completely stifling the Birmingham Phoenix top and middle-order. As dominant a performance as you'll see in the Hundred; the hosts were better across all departments by quite some distance today.
Like almost every other game in the Men's Hundred so far, the new-ball bowlers posed a major threat. That turned out to be the case across both innings, more so in the second innings. Earlier in the day, Jos Buttler ensured that such threats were negated as he went after the bowling, having walked in after Seifert's departure off the sixth delivery in the first innings. Buttler kept doing the bulk of the scoring, picking his deliveries to attack and successfully executing them almost at will.
Aiden Markram gave him company in the powerplay. but followed shortly after it. Heinrich Klaasen, too, holed out having gotten off to a start, deceived by a clever piece of bowling by Rehan Ahmed. Buttler found his partner-in-crime in Tom Moores eventually - the left-hander, who plies his trade for Nottinghamshire in county cricket, saw off a few sighters, and absolutely tore into the bowling in the last five sets or so. Moores went on to club five sixes, ending with 39 off 17. Jos Buttler took on Scott Currie with success in the penultimate set, got to 90 but fell in the last set.
With a formidable 188 to defend, the Manchester Super Giants came out all guns blazing, all thanks to their fast bowlers. Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue proved to be more than a handful for the Birmingham Phoenix top order as they bowled fast, got the ball to spring and deviate off the wicket at times. The Phoenix managed a mere 28 in the powerplay, losing Will Smeed and Rehan Ahmed off successive deliveries to Josh Tongue.
There was the odd boundary now and then, but the majority of them were streaky in nature. Clarke, pressurised due to the extra pace, tried to take on Liam Dawson's left-arm spin and was stumped in the 8th set. Evans followed three balls later, and while the Phoenix skipper Donovan Ferreira put up a fight, the run rate kept creeping up.
Sonny Baker and Gus Atkinson chipped in with two tight overs in the middle, continuing to bowl fast and into the pitch. Baker accounted for Mitchell Owen off the last ball of the 13th set, and the game was all but decided once Leus du Plooy pulled off a stunning effort at deep cover to hold on to a catch that accounted for Donovan Ferreira off Noor Ahmad.
Noor did for Ben Dwarshuis off the next legal delivery, and Liam Dawson got Sean Dickson, the last recognised batter, shortly afterwards. Dawson went on to finish proceedings by picking up the last wicket, his third of the day, and Manchester Super Giants rounded off a comprehensive win on home soil.