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The Phoenix finally got some rhythm when Joe Clarke was joined by Laurie Evans as they put on 50 (29) for the fourth wicket. In the process, Clarke also reached his fifty off 27 balls to keep the Phoenix afloat. Matt Henry broke the partnership as he dismissed Evans for 19 (14) and the Phoenix's skipper, Donovan Ferreira also didn't much to the scorecard making only 1 (5).  Despite the absence of Amir, Henry and Lewis Gregory closed out the innings superbly with the latter going onto dismiss Clarke for 62 on the 97th delivery of the innings. In the end, the Phoenix could only muster up 111/6 which wasn't going to be enough at all against the table-toppers.

Earlier in the match, Mohammad Amir got Trent Rockets off to the perfect start as Mitchell Owen holed out to long-on courtesy a slower delivery. The Birmingham Phoenix only managed 25/1 in the Powerplay with scoring being very difficult even as Amir walked off the field after dismissing Owen. Will Smeed struggled during his stay scoring only 6 off 16 before he was caught at long-on off Santner. Calvin Harrison also got into the game as he dismissed Rehan Ahmed with the Rockets' spin duo ensuring that the Phoenix went under run-a-ball for a long period.

Interestingly, Donovan Ferreira held Usman Tariq back after that and Aneurin Donald cashed in during the mean-time to score a quick-fire 17 off 6. Ben Dwarshuis did dismiss Donald but Allen and Billings played sensibly to take the team closer to victory. Billings also unfurled some brilliant shots including a couple of consecutive maximums against Saqib Mahmood. Just as the Rockets neared the victory mark, Usman Tariq came back and dismissed Allen for 28 (30). It didn't take long after that for the match to get over with Billing slogging Rehan Ahmed over deep mid-wicket for a maximum as the Rockets got home with 17 balls to spare.

Chasing 112 for victory, Ben Duckett and Finn Allen knew that they didn't have to be too aggressive. The Rockets went onto get only 29/0 in the Powerplay while Duckett and Allen put on 41 for the opening wicket. It was the crafty spin bowling of Usman Tariq which broke the partnership as Duckett chipped an easy catch to Donovan Ferreira at short cover.

01:33 AM IST, 09:03 PM Local Time: A cracking winning shot from Sam Billings as Trent Rockets register a superb seven-wicket win over the Birmingham Phoenix. They firm their position at the top of the points table which is a deserved reflection of the performances under their superb skipper, Sam Billings.

Lewis Gregory (POTM): "[On the team performance] Yeah, it was a nice day for the lads. I thought we were superb with the ball. The guys upfront restricted really well and then we kept chipping away with important wickets through the middle.

[On the wicket] Yeah, it was probably two paced I felt with a little variable bounce. The bowling unit just spoke about smashing the top of the stumps as hard as we could. Mixing pace on that same length. You need to be brave at times, and I think the lads were fantastic.

[On the team doing so well] Yeah, absolutely. The boys are going really well. The guys up front with the bat have been outstanding throughout the competition. We have defended really well with the ball and chased well as well. We have played some fantastic cricket.

[Key to their success] We have got a lot of experience. We have guys that have done it around the world and have done really well. The guys are going well. Craig Overton has been superb. Mohammad Amir as well. Hopefully he is going to be okay. Fingers crossed. The spin twins have been outstanding. We will be looking to get better."

Sam Billings (Trent Rockets captain): [On playing at Trent Bridge] It is a brilliant stadium. It’s a really unique ground where the fans actually feel on top. It’s a sport-loving city, a sport-loving region of the country. The support has been fantastic. 

[Difference between captaining Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles] I think one thing I will say, working with Peter Moores has been an absolute pleasure. Obviously Tom Moody and what we built over that five years (with OI) and the success we had, he was fantastic to work with. But Peter Moores has kind of blown me away as an English coach. Everyone has said how good he has been. I hadn't worked with him before. From day one, he has been absolutely fantastic. So that definitely makes it easier for me as captain. We have experienced players and young players. It’s incredible to see the new things they are trying. But I think experience is a huge amount in T20s. 

[On the leadership group and Lewis Gregory] One of the first things when we started this is to be really clear who we wanted in the leadership group. Ben Duckett, obviously a senior player. But Lewis, it would be criminal for me not to use that experience. He has been an incredible captain for Somerset for a very long period of time. Mitch Santner, obviously an international captain. Tim David. All of those guys, those conversations I am having. 

[Analysing other teams in the competition] All the sides have been strong. Obviously Birmingham have had a tough run but they got 214 against us. So I think all the sides have been very strong this year. Welsh Fire have been a great outfit, especially at home. It’s a brilliant competition and anyone can get into those top three spots. But we’re pretty focused on the next game at the Oval. It’s a brilliant place to play cricket. I know how important it is to get the top spot in this tournament. 

[On facing his old team next] Yeah, it is obviously a very different competition. They are a completely different team except Sam Curran and Will Jacks. Yeah, it will be a great game. They’ve got some superstars but it is nice to go back there. It will be nice to get a result there."

Trent Rockets continue to fly high. With this emphatic win, they extend their reign at the top of the points table. We hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we did bringing it to you.

Join us again on Thursday for the London Derby. For now, this is the quartet of Darpan, Manan, Karthik and Raju Khariya signing off. Sayonara!