1:46 AM IST, 9:16 PM Local Time: Matthew Revis pumps Yorkshire home in the final over! A game that lived up to the name of England's premier T20 league - the viewers had an absolute blast watching some quality ball-striking! Durham had their phases, but they just crumbled under pressure towards the end!
Alex Lees and Graham Clark set the tone for Durham early on with the bat. The duo put up 97 in seven overs before Clark was dismissed by Faheem Ashraf. Lees, the skipper, kept going, racing to 73 before being dismissed off the last ball of the ninth over. Ben McKinney picked up from where the opening duo left off, taking Durham to 170 with more than five overs remaining.
The Yorkshire bowlers then did a remarkable job in the last five overs. The tide turned towards the hosts once McKinney holed out to Hasan Ali off Andrew Tye in the 15th over. Jafer Chohan went for 5 in the 16th, eking out Kasey Aldridge. Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Andrew Tye then went on to build on that momentum, conceding 23 runs off the last three overs and restricting Durham to 205.
Jonny Bairstow then teed off in classic Jonny Bairstow fashion, improvising and picking the gaps out in ways only he can. He took a liking to left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson in the first three overs, hitting him for four boundaries and a six. The bowlers were being rotated, but Bairstow continued along his merry way, even as his opening partner Adam Lyth departed.
William Luxton was bowled by Nathan Sowter two balls after the powerplay, and the flow of runs stemmed momentarily as Bairstow and Moeen Ali looked to work the fielders in the deep. The Durham bowlers were slowly helping the away side get a grip on proceedings, and the boundaries slowly started to dry up considerably.
Durham had a stroke of fortune when Bairstow picked out Lees at extra cover off a hit-me delivery from Raine. Moeen Ali then switched gears, and we got to see some glorious ball-striking. Kasey Aldridge was tonked for four sixes in the 14th over, and the tide turned dramatically towards the home side. Moeen got to fifty and was looking good to take his side home, but after he holed out to Potts at deep square off Parkinson in the 17th over, the pendulum swung towards Durham again.
Callum Parkinson and Ben Raine seemed to pull things back for Durham going into the penultimate over. While Sam Whiteman struggled to time it right, Matthew Revis rose to the occasion, clubbing Matthew Potts for a six over long on and then a boundary down the ground. With 12 to get in the last over, Revis held his nerve, picks his areas to attack and got his side past the finish line with one ball to spare!