124/8 (20.0)
CR : 6.20
169/7 (20.0)
CR : 8.45
Sunrisers Leeds won by 45 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Ryan Rickelton
65(37)
Even as the 52-run opening partnership was broken, Sunrisers Leeds continued to score at a superb rate as the Phoenix' bowlers with the exception of Tariq failed to bowl with discipline. To no one's surprise, it was Tariq once again who came up with a wicket as he trapped Brook in front for 19 (11). The Sunrisers started to lose their way slightly with Zak Crawley chipping the ball to long-on off Jordan Thompson's bowling even as Rickelton got to his fifty and 27 balls.
Earlier in the match, Sunrisers Leeds got a fantastic start from the prolific opening combination of Mitchell Marsh and Ryan Rickelton. They put on 46/0 in the Powerplay with Marsh playing some lovely strokes while Rickelton survived with some luck on his side. Marsh was looking in great touch but Usman Tariq came into the attack and bamboozled the Aussie with a slow delivery which castled the leg-stump.
Jordan Thompson still had some fun as he took on Matthew Revis to give some entertainment to the home crowd. Nathan Ellis made sure that the Phoenix didn't great momentum as he had Dickson hole out to long-on to break 42-run stand with Thompson. Then, Potts came back to castle Scott Currie and Tom Helm off consecutive balls. Both Potts and Ellis used all their variations to ensure that the Phoenix finished with just 124/8 to pocket a massive win which pushed Sunrisers Leeds to No.2 in the points table above MI London and Welsh Fire.
Joe Clarke and Sean Dickson got together to stitch a partnership but it wasn't at a great rate as Zak Crawley rotated his bowlers nicely. Eventually, Abrar Ahmed got Clarke for 25 (22) at deep mid-wicket while trying to take on the longer side of the boundary. Brydon Carse came back into the attack and he castled Donovan Ferreira with a slower delivery to get a third scalp. The game was almost done as the Phoenix needed 88 off 30 balls when the Strategic Time-out.
Chasing 170 for victory, Mitchell Owen swung and missed a few times before he top-edged a short delivery from Brydon Carse to mid-wicket. Matthew Potts then had Will Smeed caught-behind while another short delivery from Carse had Rehan Ahmed caught at deep square-leg. This meant that the Phoenix only managed 27/3 in the Powerplay which put them firmly on the back-foot.
01:50 AM IST, 09:20 PM Local Time: What a fantastic performance from the Sunrisers Leeds as they wrap up a 45-run win over the Birmingham Phoenix, who have been eliminated from the tournament. The batters set up the job and then it was a complete team bowling effort with Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts taking three wickets apiece.
Hero of the Match: Ryan Rickelton
Ryan Rickelton (Hero of the Match): (On the importance of the win) "It was an important game for us. It's a big weekend in the competition, and it's getting really tight at the top of the table. So it's good to get over the line, and hopefully we also got a nice net run-rate boost.
(On his innings) Mitch [Marsh] took a lot of the heat off me. He landed the first punch, giving me some time to get into my game. I'm moving a lot better now and have a bit more trust in myself compared to a week ago. I'm slowly finding my groove, and I really enjoyed putting together a good partnership with the big man. Hopefully we can continue that going forward.
(On batting alongside Mitch Mash) We're fortunate to have played against each other quite a lot, even though this was our first opportunity to play together. You work each other's games out from watching and playing against one another, and it comes together quite nicely. Mitch takes a very aggressive approach early on, and while that's generally my role, he allows me to sit back and ease into my innings. We complement each other well, and I'd much rather be playing with him than against him.
(On the bowling performance) I thought we probably left another 10 or 20 runs out there, as we were in a good position for a bigger total. But the quality of our bowlers to execute their plans under pressure, day in and day out, has been a testament to this team. They're really carrying us at the moment, and hopefully they can continue to do so."
(On his innings) Mitch [Marsh] took a lot of the heat off me. He landed the first punch, giving me some time to get into my game. I'm moving a lot better now and have a bit more trust in myself compared to a week ago. I'm slowly finding my groove, and I really enjoyed putting together a good partnership with the big man. Hopefully we can continue that going forward.
(On batting alongside Mitch Mash) We're fortunate to have played against each other quite a lot, even though this was our first opportunity to play together. You work each other's games out from watching and playing against one another, and it comes together quite nicely. Mitch takes a very aggressive approach early on, and while that's generally my role, he allows me to sit back and ease into my innings. We complement each other well, and I'd much rather be playing with him than against him.
(On the bowling performance) I thought we probably left another 10 or 20 runs out there, as we were in a good position for a bigger total. But the quality of our bowlers to execute their plans under pressure, day in and day out, has been a testament to this team. They're really carrying us at the moment, and hopefully they can continue to do so."
Brydon Carse (Sunrisers Leeds): "[On the good form Sunrisers Leeds are in] We seem to be on a good roll at the minute. Couple of wins, two more matches and it seems to be in our hands at the moment.
[About the plans coming in to defend 170] We kept it really clear as a bowling group. The plan was always to bowl 10 balls in the Powerplay. Just looked to bowl hard length with variations mixed in. We ended up winning by 40 runs.
[What defines the hard length] Top of the stumps, 6-7 meters is what is generally talked about. There was a stat recently during the ODI series where the run-rate is lower during the 6-8 meters. You have to adjust to the different batters that is what we were ultimately trying to do.
[Getting back into the Test squad against Pakistan] It is great to be back in the Test squad. Missed the start of the summer but been a few weeks playing for Durham and in the Hundred, so looking forward.
[On making the body ready for the longer format] It is just in the training sessions. Instead of bowling 3-4 overs, might try to bowl longer spells. With the fast nature of the game, you are always trying to adapt."
[About the plans coming in to defend 170] We kept it really clear as a bowling group. The plan was always to bowl 10 balls in the Powerplay. Just looked to bowl hard length with variations mixed in. We ended up winning by 40 runs.
[What defines the hard length] Top of the stumps, 6-7 meters is what is generally talked about. There was a stat recently during the ODI series where the run-rate is lower during the 6-8 meters. You have to adjust to the different batters that is what we were ultimately trying to do.
[Getting back into the Test squad against Pakistan] It is great to be back in the Test squad. Missed the start of the summer but been a few weeks playing for Durham and in the Hundred, so looking forward.
[On making the body ready for the longer format] It is just in the training sessions. Instead of bowling 3-4 overs, might try to bowl longer spells. With the fast nature of the game, you are always trying to adapt."
So, that is it from myself, Karthik Raj and my co-commentator, Dev Rajawat as we wrap up the coverage of this fixture. A note of thanks to our scorer, Manish Bishnoi as well. Do stay tuned with the CPL opener not being far away with the first ball scheduled at 04:30 AM IST!