160/6 (19.3)
CR : 8.21
159/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.95
Trent Rockets won by 4 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Ben Duckett
75(47)
19.2
2
Jamie Overton to Craig Overton
Pace-off, hard length outside off. Batter Overton chops this into the deep just behind point. The batters get the second run rather comfortably.
Trent Rockets need 2 off 3 balls now.
19.3
2
Jamie Overton to Craig Overton
Craig Overton and the Trent Rockets prevail!!! Pace-off, banged into the pitch, around off. Overton swipes this into the deep just behind square, and the batters complete a second run as the throw comes in from the deep. After a hard fought contest, it's Craig Overton who wins the bragging rights between the twins, and it's the Trent Rockets who take the points, winning this contest by 4 wickets with three balls to spare!
Over 20
Trent Rockets 160/6
Craig Overton20(6)
Mitchell Santner7(4)
Jamie Overton1-30(18 b)
TR won by 4 wickets
01:26 AM IST, 08:56 PM Local Time: First points of the season for Trent Rockets and what a thrilling way to do it as they beat London Spirit by four wickets and just two balls to spare! Craig Overton and a chase being a great combination as we have seen recently as well.
Chasing 160 for victory, the Rockets didn't get off to the best start as David Willey swung the ball around corners and dismissed Finn Allen for a five-ball duck. The Powerplay ended up quiet as the Rockets only got to 29/1. However, the duo of Ben Duckett and Tom Banton grew into the chase with some lovely boundaries. Duckett got to his fifty off 31 balls while he stitched a 72-run stand with Banton which had the hosts in the driver's seat at the half-way mark of the chase.
However, the Strategic Time-out worked in London Spirit's favour as Tom Banton cut a harmless delivery from Andrew Tye to James Rew at backward point. Then, out of nowhere, rain intervened but play resumed within minutes with the umpires smartly deciding to not take the players off the field. The Spirit still kept the pressure on which resulted in a 18-ball streak without a boundary before Duckett struck back-to-back fours off Tye. It was the pacer who had the last laugh though as James Coles took a fantastic catch at deep backward square-leg.
The Rockets' skipper, Sam Billings came out and played some outrageous shots off Adam Zampa before he picked out deep point with perfection off Adam Milne's bowling to bring another twist in the tale. Milne closed out his spell with the wicket of Lewis Gregory as well which made the equation come down to 25 off 10 balls. This is when Craig Overton and Mitchell Santner stepped up and produced boundaries and the requirement came down to 10 off 5 in the end. It turned out to be a battle between the Overton brothers and Craig triumphed in the end as he finished the match with a couple of balls to spare.
Earlier in the match, Craig Overton got the Rockets off to a great start with the ball as well with Jonny Bairstow miscuing an attempted scoop to offer a simple return catch. The promising duo of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and James Rew still attacked aplenty as the boundaries flowed during the Powerplay. Eventually, Pretorius died by his sword as he edged behind off Overton's bowling in the final set of the Powerplay.
Spirit finished the Powerplay at 48/2 but the runs dried up after that with Liam Livingstone struggling for fluency initially. Rew also didn't convert his start as Calvin Harrison struck. After a few quiet sets, both Livingstone and Brevis got going and they went onto stitch a 53-run stand for the 4th wicket. The leg-spinner, Harrison was the one to break the partnership again as Livingstone holed out to deep square-leg. A few deliveries later, Mitchell Santner also struck by taking a cracking return catch to send back James Coles.
The Rockets came back superbly during the final overs with Mohammad Amir using his variations to good effect which also accounted for Brevis' wicket. The wickets kept tumbling but the likes of Jamie Overton, David Willey and Andrew Tye all produced the odd boundary or two to help the Spirit get to 159/9 in the end.
Chasing 160 for victory, the Rockets didn't get off to the best start as David Willey swung the ball around corners and dismissed Finn Allen for a five-ball duck. The Powerplay ended up quiet as the Rockets only got to 29/1. However, the duo of Ben Duckett and Tom Banton grew into the chase with some lovely boundaries. Duckett got to his fifty off 31 balls while he stitched a 72-run stand with Banton which had the hosts in the driver's seat at the half-way mark of the chase.
However, the Strategic Time-out worked in London Spirit's favour as Tom Banton cut a harmless delivery from Andrew Tye to James Rew at backward point. Then, out of nowhere, rain intervened but play resumed within minutes with the umpires smartly deciding to not take the players off the field. The Spirit still kept the pressure on which resulted in a 18-ball streak without a boundary before Duckett struck back-to-back fours off Tye. It was the pacer who had the last laugh though as James Coles took a fantastic catch at deep backward square-leg.
The Rockets' skipper, Sam Billings came out and played some outrageous shots off Adam Zampa before he picked out deep point with perfection off Adam Milne's bowling to bring another twist in the tale. Milne closed out his spell with the wicket of Lewis Gregory as well which made the equation come down to 25 off 10 balls. This is when Craig Overton and Mitchell Santner stepped up and produced boundaries and the requirement came down to 10 off 5 in the end. It turned out to be a battle between the Overton brothers and Craig triumphed in the end as he finished the match with a couple of balls to spare.
Earlier in the match, Craig Overton got the Rockets off to a great start with the ball as well with Jonny Bairstow miscuing an attempted scoop to offer a simple return catch. The promising duo of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and James Rew still attacked aplenty as the boundaries flowed during the Powerplay. Eventually, Pretorius died by his sword as he edged behind off Overton's bowling in the final set of the Powerplay.
Spirit finished the Powerplay at 48/2 but the runs dried up after that with Liam Livingstone struggling for fluency initially. Rew also didn't convert his start as Calvin Harrison struck. After a few quiet sets, both Livingstone and Brevis got going and they went onto stitch a 53-run stand for the 4th wicket. The leg-spinner, Harrison was the one to break the partnership again as Livingstone holed out to deep square-leg. A few deliveries later, Mitchell Santner also struck by taking a cracking return catch to send back James Coles.
The Rockets came back superbly during the final overs with Mohammad Amir using his variations to good effect which also accounted for Brevis' wicket. The wickets kept tumbling but the likes of Jamie Overton, David Willey and Andrew Tye all produced the odd boundary or two to help the Spirit get to 159/9 in the end.
Ben Duckett is the Player of the Match!
Ben Duckett (Player of the Match): "(On the confidence from the batting performance tonight as compared to the previous game) We fell short the other night, but we felt like we gave it a go. We've got guys here in form, so, with batting as deep we go, with Craig coming in and finishing like that, it was awesome.
(On his 360-degree shot making and the ramp shot) Thank God I've got that shot (the ramp) because I would have been struggling otherwise. The pitch was good, it was just bouncy with the new ball, so itt (ramp) felt like a good option to go to, try and put them off their lines and maybe I can then score in other areas.
(On thoughts of the total at the halfway mark) It's my second game here; so I'm still not sure what the par total is. I've played a lot of cricket in this ground, it's small, it's definitely gettable when you get in. It felt like a really good pitch, and the bowlers did a very good job. That's what we didn't do the other day, we didn't take wickets throughout, and that's something we've spoken about, trying to be as brave as we can with our lengths. The best way to restrict a team in this format is by taking wickets.
(On battle between Overton brothers) They've probably done that in the back garden for many years. But Craig's been awesome this year, what he's done for Somerset, that was kind of no doubt with him going in there. More importantly, as a team, they are the games which we have to get over the line in these competitions. If we're none from two, it's a pretty steep climb. We're going to take a lot of confidence from this one."
(On his 360-degree shot making and the ramp shot) Thank God I've got that shot (the ramp) because I would have been struggling otherwise. The pitch was good, it was just bouncy with the new ball, so itt (ramp) felt like a good option to go to, try and put them off their lines and maybe I can then score in other areas.
(On thoughts of the total at the halfway mark) It's my second game here; so I'm still not sure what the par total is. I've played a lot of cricket in this ground, it's small, it's definitely gettable when you get in. It felt like a really good pitch, and the bowlers did a very good job. That's what we didn't do the other day, we didn't take wickets throughout, and that's something we've spoken about, trying to be as brave as we can with our lengths. The best way to restrict a team in this format is by taking wickets.
(On battle between Overton brothers) They've probably done that in the back garden for many years. But Craig's been awesome this year, what he's done for Somerset, that was kind of no doubt with him going in there. More importantly, as a team, they are the games which we have to get over the line in these competitions. If we're none from two, it's a pretty steep climb. We're going to take a lot of confidence from this one."
Highest Individual Score for Trent Rockets in the Men's Hundred:
98* - Dawid Malan vs Manchester Super Giants, Manchester, 2022
88* - Dawid Malan vs Sunrisers Leeds, Leeds, 2022
76 - Joe Root vs MI London, The Oval, 2025
75 - Ben Duckett vs London Spirit, Nottingham, 2026, Tonight*
72* - Joe Root vs London Spirit, Lord's, 2023
98* - Dawid Malan vs Manchester Super Giants, Manchester, 2022
88* - Dawid Malan vs Sunrisers Leeds, Leeds, 2022
76 - Joe Root vs MI London, The Oval, 2025
75 - Ben Duckett vs London Spirit, Nottingham, 2026, Tonight*
72* - Joe Root vs London Spirit, Lord's, 2023
So, that is it from myself, Karthik Raj and my co-commentator, Rajarshi Das as we wrap up the coverage of this fixture. A note of thanks to our scorer, Paras Yadav as well. Do stay tuned to our coverage as cricket continues 24*7.