170/4 (20.0)
CR : 8.50
188/9 (20.0)
CR : 9.40
Worcestershire won by 18 runs 🏆
19.3
0
Matthew Waite to Nick Kelly
Slower ball on a length, evades Kelly's big swing of the bat and bounces over the stumps to reach the keeper. That should be the game. 25 to win off 3 balls now.
19.4
1
Matthew Waite to Nick Kelly
Very full, at the off and middle. Kelly just about manages to dig it out and squeeze it towards long-off. Single taken.
19.5
4
Matthew Waite to Ben Cox
FULL TOSS! CRACKED AWAY! FOUR! Cox gets a half-century, but it is a mere consolation prize at this stage. Full toss at the stumps. He backed away to the leg side and then clattered it towards the cover boundary in exquisite style.
Ben Cox
Scored 50 in 31 Balls
50
19.6
1
Matthew Waite to Ben Cox
Back of a length, at the off pole. Cox mistimes his pull shot to deep midwicket and will only get a single for it. Despite 6 wickets in hand, Leicestershire Foxes have finished 19 runs short of the target. Though, one must not take anything away from Worcestershire Rapids, who were clearly the better side tonight and have won this game by 18 runs to start their tournament on the perfect note.
Over 20
Leicestershire 170/4
Nick Kelly61(42)
Ben Cox51(32)
Matthew Waite0-35(4.0)
WOR won by 18 runs
2:00 AM IST, 9:30 PM local time: Worcestershire Rapids win by 19 runs and start their T20 Blast campaign on the right note. Meanwhile, for Leicestershire Foxes, this is going to be a bitter pill to swallow.
They did not lose a single wicket in the last 9 overs of the game. Two batters scored half-centuries and remained not out. Yet, they fell 19 runs short. Did they leave something in the tank? Did they not give it their all? Such questions would surface. However, the truth is that they might have lost the plot before Ben Cox and Nick Kelly got together in the middle.
Chasing 189, the hosts had a forgettable powerplay. At the end of the 6th over, they had put up only 37 runs on the board and their top 3 were back in the hut. Tom Taylor and Adam Finch had done the damage. It was always going to be an uphill battle post that. With his 13-ball-22, Ashton Turner did threaten a fightback, but Usama Mir got the better of him in the 11th over. In the next 55 balls, Kelly and Cox put together 89 runs, but it was not enough. Credit must not be taken away from the bowlers, who ensured that the batters could never quite hit mode turbo.
Earlier, Foxes had done well to restrict the visitors to 188/9, for at one stage, it seemed as if 200+ was inevitable. With a sprightly 26-ball-42, Isaac Mohammed had helped them garner 60/2 off the powerplay, thereby giving them a good start. Sikandar Raza (15-ball-25), Adam Hose (13-ball-19) and Kashif Ali (20-ball-28) made effervescent contributions post that to take them to 150/4 in 15 overs. However, then Josh Davey — who eventually finished with 3/32 off his 4 overs — pulled things back with two wickets in the 16th. Captain Ben Green was another shining light with 2/25 off 4 overs against his name. Rapids could not find a single boundary in the final 3 overs. However, as it turned out they had already got enough on the board.
They did not lose a single wicket in the last 9 overs of the game. Two batters scored half-centuries and remained not out. Yet, they fell 19 runs short. Did they leave something in the tank? Did they not give it their all? Such questions would surface. However, the truth is that they might have lost the plot before Ben Cox and Nick Kelly got together in the middle.
Chasing 189, the hosts had a forgettable powerplay. At the end of the 6th over, they had put up only 37 runs on the board and their top 3 were back in the hut. Tom Taylor and Adam Finch had done the damage. It was always going to be an uphill battle post that. With his 13-ball-22, Ashton Turner did threaten a fightback, but Usama Mir got the better of him in the 11th over. In the next 55 balls, Kelly and Cox put together 89 runs, but it was not enough. Credit must not be taken away from the bowlers, who ensured that the batters could never quite hit mode turbo.
Earlier, Foxes had done well to restrict the visitors to 188/9, for at one stage, it seemed as if 200+ was inevitable. With a sprightly 26-ball-42, Isaac Mohammed had helped them garner 60/2 off the powerplay, thereby giving them a good start. Sikandar Raza (15-ball-25), Adam Hose (13-ball-19) and Kashif Ali (20-ball-28) made effervescent contributions post that to take them to 150/4 in 15 overs. However, then Josh Davey — who eventually finished with 3/32 off his 4 overs — pulled things back with two wickets in the 16th. Captain Ben Green was another shining light with 2/25 off 4 overs against his name. Rapids could not find a single boundary in the final 3 overs. However, as it turned out they had already got enough on the board.
That brings us to the end of our coverage for this match. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did bringing it to you. The commentator was Darpan Tikiya. The scorer was Raju Khariya. Keep following Crickxo for more cricketing action from around the globe. Sayonara!