Brave seal nail-biting win after Chris Jordan heroics with the bat
Southern Brave 147 for 8 (Jordan 70*, Rauf 3-23) beat Welsh Fire 145 for 7 (Wiley 31, Mills 2-23) by two runs
Chris Jordan smashed an exhilarating 70 off 32 balls to offer Southern Brave their first Hundred victory of 2023 in a two-run nail-biter over Welsh Fire.
England star Jordan dragged Brave from 76 for 8 – with Pakistan fast Haris Rauf taking three wickets – to 147 with seven ginormous sixes and a trio of fours for simply his second T20 half-century. Legspin sensation Rehan Ahmed, Craig Overton and last-set hero Tymal Mills all claimed two wickets because the 2021 winners bounced again from their opening sport defeat to Trent Rockets.
Brave have been caught in and after 76 balls have been eight down and searching down the barrel of an embarrassing sub-three-figure complete. Fast bowler Rauf was the principle architect of the slaughter with 3 for 23 – choosing up Finn Allen caught behind off a bouncer, bowling George Garton and bouncing James Fuller out. All finished for Rauf’s categorical tempo.
Shaheen Shah Afridi returned to the Ageas Bowl for the primary time since taking 4 in 4 balls within the Vitality Blast three years in the past and had Devon Conway gloving behind. James Vince, Tim David, Leus du Plooy and Rehan additionally fell cheaply.
Jordan had 8 off 14 balls when Rehan was run out earlier than exploding in a mode which received the 12,403 followers on the Ageas Bowl rocking.
He thumped Rauf down the bottom for his first six, quick ahead to 22 off 19 balls and Roelof van der Merwe’s left arm spin bore the brunt of three consecutive sixes as long-off, midwicket and sq. leg have been cleared, earlier than clipping David Payne off his legs for a trendy most as his fifty got here up in 26 balls.
Two extra sixes and 19 runs off the final 5 balls took the stand with Overton to 71 in 25 balls, with Jordan contributing 62 of them.
David dropped a dolly to offer Luke Wells a life with the primary ball of the reply however Joe Clarke suffered his second golden duck in a row. Wells slogged to long-on and Stephen Eskinazi – who had scooped his first ball for an audacious six – was stumped after a 41-run stand between the pair as Rehan’s legspin prompted issues.
Tom Abell drilled to cowl, Glenn Phillips’ high edge picked out deep nice and Fuller’s parsimonious first 15 balls went for simply 11 runs to place Brave within the field seat. Willey hit two sixes off Fuller’s final 5 earlier than Ben Green went six, 4, caught at long-on to make the equation 14 off seven balls.
Willey scored eight off the primary 4 balls of the final set however needing three off the final he was caught at level as the bottom bounced.