BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report: After back-to-back losses that put them out of the knockout race, Birmingham Phoenix took a consolation win in what was the last league phase match of the Men’s Hundred 2023, defeating London Spirit by a huge margin of 77 runs.
BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report
It gave the home fans that had turned up to Edgbaston today something to cheer about after what has been a majorly underwhelming campaign for Birmingham.
Owing to this victory, and the two points that came with it, Birmingham Phoenix also avoided the wooden spoon and finished in the 6th position in the points table. London Spirit ended the season with three losses in their last four matches and finished just below Birmingham in the points table.
The victory was set up in the first innings itself as Birmingham Phoenix had piled up 185 runs. According to the BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report, The London Spirit captain Daniel Lawrence had won the toss and, surprisingly, elected to bowl first even though, as the historical T20 data suggests, batting gets tougher in the second innings at Edgbaston with the bowlers, in particular wrist-spinners coming heavily into play.
That is exactly what happened. The hopes for the London Spirit to get a victory away from home tonight dashed in the first 10 balls of their chase, courtesy of Adam Milne’s fiery new-ball spell.
Defending 185, London Spirit were first blown away by a stunning four-wicket haul from Adam Milne, who took 3 wickets in his first 10 balls as the London batters had no answers to Milne’s express pace. Later on, As per the BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report, leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha came on to claim a three-wicket haul, wiping out the lower order.
Also READ: BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report
Earlier, the Birmingham Phoenix themselves had an unwelcome start as they lost opener Will Smeed – whose forgettable tournament has now to an end – on the first ball of the match to Hundred debutant Tim Southee. However, after that, the in-form duo of Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith took over the mantle and got their side a quick turnaround.
According to the BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report, The pair forged a terrific partnership of 94 runs in 55 before Smith was dismissed for 52 off 31. Captain Moeen Ali came in ahead of Liam Livingstone and ensued carnage with his barrage of sixes: the left-hander smashed 4 sixes and one four in his blitzkrieg of 32 runs off only 14 balls. Duckett scored 47 off 33 balls and Benny Howell gave the finishing touch with a cameo of 23* runs off 10 balls to take Phoenix’s total to 185. Southee had a three-for on his Hundred debut.
For London, only two batters showed some fight. Playing in his first game of the season, Daniel Bell-Drummond scored 23 runs off 14 balls, though he would consider himself lucky to not have faced the fireballs from Adam Milne in the first 10 balls from the Kiwi speedster as he stood at the non-striker’s end, watching Milne topple three batters with his rapidity.
Daryl Mitchell, who has had a fruitful Hundred 2023 season, fought till the end, scoring 59 runs off 36 balls, and was the last wicket to fall, bowled by pacer Tom Helm.
After Milne’s rocket thunderbolts, leg-spinners Liam Livingstone and Tanveer Sangha got in the act: the Englishman took 2 wickets while the Australian leggie picked three. As per the BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report, Milne bagged the Player of the Match award for his sensational bowling performance that put the result all but to bed. The fast bowler was happy to end on a high which has been a disappointing season for his team.
This concluded the league phase of the Men’s Hundred 2023. The Oval Invincibles ended up as the table leaders with 13 points and qualified directly for the final on Sunday at The Lord’s ground. The second and third-placed teams, Manchester Originals and Southern Brave respectively, both with 9 points each and having better NRR than Welsh Fire, the third 9-pointer team, will face off in the Eliminator on Saturday at the Kennington Oval for the vacant spot in the final.
For more, Check out: BPH vs LNS The Hundred 32nd Match Report
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