Graham Clark played the clutch moments to perfection and hit a last ball maximum as the Northern Superchargers held their nerve to edge out Southern Brave by 3 wickets off the final ball. Graham Clark built a crucial partnership with Mitchell Santner and held his nerve in the end to inflict a first defeat to Southern Brave.
Southern Brave batting first rode on Laurie Evans’ 53 off 34 balls and James Coles’ 49* off 36 balls to post 139/5 with Jacob Duffy picking up 3 wickets and Mitchell Santner 2 wickets. In reply, Zak Crawley made 29 off 18 balls while captain Harry Brook made 24 off 16 balls. In the end, Graham Clark’s 38* off 24 balls alongside Mitchell Santner’s 24 off 16 balls clinched it for Northern Superchargers. Craig Overton picked up 3 wickets, Jofra Archer and Tymal Mills picked up a couple of wickets apiece but it was in vain as the Superchargers won by 3 wickets.
Jacob Duffy’s 3-wicket haul restricts Southern Brave to 139/5
Put into bat first, Leus du Plooy and captain James Vince walked out to bat for Southern Brave while Jacob Duffy had ball in hand for Superchargers. Duffy struck early getting rid of du Plooy for a silver duck. He bowled a good length delivery wide outside off-stump, du Plooy stepped down the track and threw his hands at it and played a loose stroke to get a thick inside edge which goes back onto the stumps. Jason Roy came to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary.
Tom Lawes came in to bowl the next set and Vince hit him for a boundary through deep square leg. Roy hit Duffy for a boundary but the bowler bounced back to get rid of Vince for 6 off 6 balls with a boundary to his name. Duffy bowled it short and wide outside off sticking in the surface which Vince toe ends it straight to cover where Tom Lawes took a simple catch at the edge of the circle. James Coles came into bat next and got off the mark.
Matthew Potts was introduced into the attack as Coles hit him for a boundary. Duffy struck again as he got rid of Jason Roy for 11 off 9 balls with 2 fours to his name. Duffy bowled a short ball outside off banged into the pitch, Roy was late on the pull and ended up chipping to Tom Lawes at short midwicket. The ball dipped on the fielder but he kept his eyes on the ball and got his fingers underneath to take a fine low catch. Laurie Evans came out to bat next and got off the mark.
After the end of powerplay of 25 balls, Southern Brave were struggling at 27/3. Mitchell Santner was introduced into the attack post the powerplay. He bowled a decent set while Adil Rashid was introduced from the other end. Rashid also bowled a tidy set. Evans finally broke the shackles as he hit Santner for a maximum and a boundary to end the 8th set. Lawes came back and was greeted with a hat-trick of boundaries from Evans. Adil Rashid bowled a quiet set as Southern Brave reached 67/3 at the halfway stage of the innings after 50 balls.
Matthew Potts came back into the attack and bowled a decent set. Evans finally got one in the slot and dispatched Lawes for the maximum. Mitchell Santner came back and kept things tidy from one end. Evans charged Adil Rashid down the track and hit him for a welcome boundary. Coles then hit Potts for a boundary as the 100 came up for Southern Brave in 73 balls. Coles also pummelled Potts for the maximum over midwicket as Southern Brave reached 107/3 in 75 balls.
Soon, Evans got to his fifty by hitting a boundary off Lawes as he got there in 31 balls. Mitchell Santner broke the partnership then getting rid of Evans for 53 off 34 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Santner bowling from around the wicket flighted it around off-stump, Evans cleared his front leg and looked to tonk it down the ground but got too close to the pitch of the ball. He hit it off the toe end of the bat as the ball went high up in the air to long-off where Zak Crawley settled underneath it to take the catch. Hilton Cartwright came out to bat next.
Cartwright was soon dismissed for 1 off 2 balls as Santner had two in the set. He bowled into the pitch and aims at the stumps from a short length, Cartwright rocked back to go for a pull shot and is late on the stroke. He got hit high on the bat and dragged it straight to Duffy at short midwicket. Michael Bracewell came out to bat next. Adil Rashid bowled a decent set to complete his miserly set.
Bracewell then launched Duffy over square leg for the maximum. Coles then hit Potts for a boundary while Santner did really well at deep midwicket to save three runs for his side. A couple of twos to end the set meant Southern Brave finished with 139/5 in 100 balls. Coles was unbeaten on 49 off 36 balls laced with 3 fours and a maximum while Bracewell was unbeaten on 15 off 11 balls with a maximum to his name. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
Jacob Duffy was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/26 in 20 balls while Mitchell Santner chipped in with 2/24 in 20 balls. Adil Rashid bowled a miserly spell of 0/24 in 20 balls. Tom Lawes went for 35 in 20 balls while Matthew Potts went for 30 in 20 balls. Just 5 bowlers used by Superchargers who now needed 140 runs off 100 balls to win the contest.
Graham Clark’s last ball six pulls off a heist for Northern Superchargers
Chasing 141 for the win, Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan walked out to bat for Northern Superchargers while Craig Overton had ball in hand. Overton struck in the first set getting rid of Malan for 1 off 2 balls. Overton speared a very full ball onto the middle stump, Malan shuffled across to the off-stump to expose the stumps. He missed the flick on the inside edge and heard the death rattle as the ball knocked over the stumps. Michael Pepper walked out to bat at 3.
Jofra Archer came in to bowl the next set and bowled some quick deliveries even though Pepper managed to hit him for a boundary through backward square leg. Zak Crawley got into the act as he hit Overton for two boundaries in three balls. Crawley next targeted Archer and hit him for a boundary through mid-off and extra cover. Overton came to bowl the final set in powerplay as Pepper hit him for a boundary before Overton hit back getting rid of Pepper for 10 off 11 balls with 2 boundaries to his name.
Craig bowled a short ball outside off, Pepper looked to pull and dragged it off the top edge to deep backward square leg. James Coles took a simple catch in the deep. Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary straightaway as Northern Superchargers reached 31/2 after 25 balls of the powerplay. James Coles came into the attack after the powerplay and bowled a decent set. Chris Jordan came into the attack as Crawley hit him for a boundary.
Tymal Mills was introduced into the attack and was greeted with a maximum from Crawley but Mills hit back immediately getting rid of Crawley for 29 off 18 balls with 4 fours and a maximum to his name. Mills bowled a good length delivery on the stumps, Crawley backed away and stepped down the track trying to launch it downtown. He was nowhere near the pitch of the ball and lost his shape and miscued it towards mid-off where Jordan moved around and took a well-judged catch. Daniel Lawrence came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace as the 50 came up for Superchargers in 40 balls.
Michael Bracewell was introduced into the attack and bowled a decent set. Lawrence then hit Coles for a boundary as Northern Superchargers reached 65/3 in 50 balls at the halfway stage of the chase. They further needed 75 runs off 50 balls with 7 wickets in hand. Tymal Mills came back and Harry Brook took him on hitting him for two consecutive boundaries before Mills bounced back getting rid of the captain for 24 off 16 balls with 3 fours to his name.
Mills bowled a fuller length on the leg stump angling in, Brook made room on the leg side and looked to slice it over point. He failed to get any timing on the stroke and ended up lobbing up a simple catch to Jordan who made no mistake. Graham Clark came out to bat next. Craig Overton came back and dismissed Daniel Lawrence for 10 off 9 balls with a boundary to his name.
Overton bowled a short ball outside off, Lawrence shuffled across and used his wrists to whip it over deep midwicket. He didn’t get the power or timing on the stroke. It went high in the air to the right of deep midwicket where Hilton Cartwright moved across and took a simple catch. Mitchell Santner came into bat next and got off the mark with a couple of runs. Clark hit Bracewell for a boundary before Chris Jordan while fielding hurt his right hamstring and was in tremendous pain.
Jofra Archer came back and bowled a miserly set even as Jordan was holding his hamstring and that prevented him from further bowling. Then, after a long chat with captain and other players, Jordan walked off the field as Brave were left with a key bowler short in the death overs. Coles came back into the attack and bowled a decent set as Northern Superchargers brought up their 100 in 75 balls. After 75 balls, the Superchargers were 100/5 with 40 needed off 25 balls.
Michael Bracewell came back into the attack as Santner took him on to launch him for a maximum and then followed that up with a boundary to keep the chase going. Clark got into the act as he hit Mills for a boundary. Superchargers now needed 18 off 15 balls as James Coles was given the ball. Coles bowled a decent set as the equation now boiled down to 11 off 10 balls with Jofra Archer to bowl the penultimate set.
Archer provided the breakthrough getting rid of Santner for 24 off 16 balls with one four and one six to his name. He bowled from around the wicket hard length outside off angling in at pace, Santner looked to pull over mid-on and got it high on the bat as it ballooned in the air. Vince dived forward and took a good low catch inches from the ground. Tom Lawes came into bat next. Archer got another as he got rid of Lawes for a bronze duck.
He bowled it fill and at the leg stump, Lawes made room on the leg side and looked to flick in on the leg side. He closed the bat face too early and got a leading edge that went back to Archer. Archer jumped in his follow-through and took the catch on the second attempt. He tried to throw the stumps at the striker’s end but missed it but it didn’t matter. Adil Rashid came out to bat next as the equation boiled down to 10 off 5 balls. Tymal Mills had ball in hand to bowl the last set.
Rashid managed to get a single and get off the mark to go to the other end while Clark cleverly hit a boundary through fine leg to bring it down to 5 off 3 balls. Clark swung and missed the next ball while the penultimate ball he let go outside off just inside the tramline and was not called wide. It was now 5 needed off 1 ball. Graham Clark kept his composure and heaved Mills’ slower ball outside off over long-on and got enough of it to go all the way for the maximum to spark off wild celebrations in the visitors’ camp as the Superchargers got over the line by 3 wickets off the final ball.
Clark’s innings of 38 off 24 balls had 3 fours and a maximum in it while Rashid remained unbeaten on 1. 4 extras given by the fielding side. As far as bowling goes, Craig Overton was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/29 in 20 balls. Jofra Archer was great in his 2/15 in 20 balls. Tymal Mills picked up 2 wickets but gave 38 runs in 20 balls. James Coles was decent for his 0/21 in 20 balls. Bracewell went for 30 in 15 balls. Chris Jordan owing to injury could only bowl one set and gave 7 runs in 5 balls.
With this win, Northern Superchargers are in 4th place with 2 wins in 3 games same as Southern Brave who also have 2 wins in 3 games but are ahead on Net Run Rate. Trent Rockets in second place have a game in hand compared to other teams. For his great innings under pressure, Graham Clark was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
The bandwagon moves to the Home of Cricket at Lord’s in London where London Spirit will host second-placed Trent Rockets from 11 PM IST. Spirit need a win as they are in the bottom half of the table while Rockets remain the only unbeaten side in the competition.
Let’s wait and see how things unfold at the Home of Cricket on 14th August, 2025 late night. The game promises to be thrilling as usual.
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