Jos Buttler brought out his best at Leeds in Headingley as his fiery innings of 70 runs off 37 balls led Manchester Originals to what may seem an upset win over already qualified Northern Superchargers by 7 wickets with 16 balls left. Jos Buttler was on a mission as he rescued Manchester from a tricky situation and led them to the win. Putting Northern Superchargers into bat first, they restricted them to 139/8 in 100 balls with Thomas Aspinwall being the star with 3/17 in 20 balls while Josh Tongue and James Anderson picked up 2 wickets apiece.
In reply, Manchester Originals lost both their openers early but it was Jos Buttler who steadied the ship and played a whirlwind innings of 70 off 37 balls and was ably supported by Rachin Ravindra who made an unbeaten 47 off 23 balls with Heinrich Klaasen coming in for the finishing touches as Originals ended their campaign with a win. The Originals climbed to 6th and finish their tally with 12 points while Northern Superchargers now will finish third and play the Eliminator match on Saturday at the Oval.
Thomas Aspinwall’s 3/17 restricts Northern Superchargers to 139/8.
Put into bat first, Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan walked out to bat for Northern Superchargers while the great James Anderson had ball in hand for Manchester Originals. Anderson started with a decent set and opted to go back-to-back. The move paid dividends as he got rid of Dawid Malan for 3 off 4 balls. Anderson bowled a length delivery swinging away, Malan looked to swing it over midwicket but ended up skying it. Jos Buttler ran forward and took the catch.
Daniel Lawrence came to the crease next and got going straightaway hitting back-to-back boundaries off Anderson. But the veteran hit back getting rid of Lawrence for 8 off 3 balls with 2 boundaries to his name. Anderson bowled a length delivery moving into the stumps, Lawrence came forward to defend but the ball went past the inside edge and struck him on the pad. The appeal was given OUT by the umpire. Lawrence reviewed and it was umpire’s call on hitting the stumps. The review was retained but Lawrence had to walk back to the hut.
Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next. George Garton came onto bowl next and was hit for a boundary by Crawley. Josh Tongue came into the attack next and was hit for a boundary by Harry Brook. Anderson came back to bowl the final set of powerplay where Harry Brook got a reprieve as George Garton put down a tough chance at deep backward point and the ball went away to the fence. After 25 balls of powerplay, Northern Superchargers were 34/2.
Scott Currie was introduced after the powerplay and Crawley greeted him with a boundary through extra covers. Ish Sodhi came into the attack next and bowled a tidy set. Thomas Aspinwall came into the attack next as the 50 came up for Northern Superchargers in 39 balls. Currie then struck for his side getting rid of captain Harry Brook for 20 off 20 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Currie bowled a slower length delivery wide of off-stump, Brook slapped it to mid-off where Phil Salt took a sharp catch. David Miller came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Josh Tongue came back and got rid of Crawley for 17 off 17 balls with 2 fours to his name. Tongue bowled it full and slow outside off-stump, Crawley lifted it straight to long-off where Scott Currie took the catch. Michael Pepper came out to bat next and got off the mark.
After 50 balls at the halfway stage of the innings, Northern Superchargers were 56/4 as Ish Sodhi came back into the attack. Miller broke the shackles as he slammed Sodhi over deep midwicket for the maximum. Aspinwall came back into the attack and bowled a tidy set. Scott Currie returned and kept things tight from his end as well. Aspinwall got the breakthrough for his side getting rid of Pepper for 8 off 13 balls.
Aspinwall bowled a good length delivery outside the off-stump, Pepper went for an expansive drive but got a thick edge as Buttler dived to his right to take the catch safely. Samit Patel came out to bat next and got off the mark. Tongue returned and was hit for a boundary by Patel through midwicket. After 75 balls, Northern Superchargers were 83/5. Patel took the attack to Sodhi smashing him for a maximum and followed that up with a boundary to give some impetus to the innings.
Anderson returned as Miller was put down by Garton, his second drop in this innings. Patel added salt to the wounds by smashing a maximum off Anderson over deep forward square as the 100 came up for the hosts in 84 balls. Scott Currie returned as Miller connected and hit him over deep midwicket for the maximum. Currie conceded 5 runs through a beamer and the free hit went for the maximum as Patel cleared long-on to make it 21 runs off the set.
Tongue returned as Miller smashed him for the maximum over deep midwicket. Tongue eventually got his man as he got rid of Miller for 30 off 22 balls with 3 sixes to his name. Tongue bowled a length delivery outside the off-stump, Miller looked to go over deep cover but failed to get the distance and it flew straight into the hands of McKinney for an easy catch. Tom Lawes came to the crease next and got off the mark straightaway.
Patel hit Aspinwall for a boundary through midwicket but the bowler had the final say dismissing him for 42 off 19 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Aspinwall bowled a good length delivery on the stumps, Patel whipped it away to deep midwicket where McKinney put in a forward dive and pouched that with both hands. Matthew Potts came in next and fell for a golden duck as Aspinwall had 2 in 2 balls.
Aspinwall bowled a yorker on the stumps, Potts played down the wrong line and the ball snuck through to crash into his stumps. Tom Lawes remained unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls as Northern Superchargers finished with 139/8 in 100 balls. 9 extras given by the fielding side.
Thomas Aspinwall was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/17 in 20 balls. He was ably supported by Josh Tongue who finished with 2/26 in 20 balls. The veteran James Anderson got two wickets at the top and finished with 2/30 in 20 balls. Scott Currie finished with 1/37 in 20 balls. George Garton bowled only 5 balls for 5 runs while Ish Sodhi gave 23 runs in 15 balls. This meant Manchester Originals needed 140 runs to win off 100 balls to end their season on a high.
Jos Buttler’s Fiery 70 takes Manchester Originals to victory.
Chasing 140 for the win, captain Philip Salt walked out to bat with Ben McKinney while Jacob Duffy had ball in hand for Northern Superchargers. Salt made his intentions clear by getting off the mark with a boundary. Matthew Potts was introduced into the attack next. He bowled a decent set. McKinney hit Duffy for his first boundary past the bowler. But Duffy came back and got rid of McKinney for 6 off 8 balls with a boundary to his name.
Duffy bowled a back of a length delivery on the stumps, McKinney pulled it straight to Potts at mid-wicket who made no mistake. Jos Buttler came out to bat at 3. Potts bowled a decent set. Duffy bowled the last set of powerplay as Buttler got his first boundary away through midwicket region. After 25 balls of powerplay, Manchester Originals were 23/1 in the chase.
Samit Patel came into the attack post the powerplay and was smashed for a maximum by Buttler down the ground. Tom Lawes came into the attack and got rid of captain Salt for 9 off 13 balls with a boundary to his name. He bowled from over the wicket good length delivery on the stumps, Salt tried to break the shackles with a powerful flick towards the midwicket region, but Crawley came across from long-on to take a simple catch. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway.
Adil Rashid was introduced into the attack and Ravindra greeted him with a maximum over deep forward square leg through a slog sweep. Buttler joined in on the act as he cut Rashid through point region for a boundary. Ravindra brought up the 50 for Manchester Originals off 43 balls through a boundary off Lawes. Daniel Lawrence came into the attack next. Buttler climbed onto him by smashing him for a boundary and a maximum to put the pressure back on the home team.
After 50 balls at the halfway stage of the chase, Manchester Originals were 69/2 and needed 71 more off the last 50 balls. Rashid continued as Ravindra paddled him through fine leg for a boundary. Matthew Potts returned and was hit for a boundary by Ravindra through long-on. Buttler too hit Potts in the same set for a boundary.
Samit Patel then got the taste of his own medicine as Buttler launched a maximum and followed that up with a boundary in consecutive balls. Buttler hit another boundary off Patel to bring up the 100 for Manchester Originals in 64 balls as Buttler too reached his fifty off 27 balls in the process. Rashid was being taken to the cleaners as Ravindra swept him for a maximum over deep midwicket.
Buttler then took the attack to Lawes and hit him for a boundary through fine leg and a maximum to long-on as he was in the zone at Leeds. After 75 balls, Manchester Originals were cruising now at 122/2. Buttler smashed Rashid again for the maximum over long-on. Rashid finally dismissed Buttler for 70 off 37 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes to his name but it was too little too late for the Superchargers.
Rashid bowled it full on the stumps, Buttler turned around early to play the switch hit over extra cover but he missed it as the stumps were broken to end a magnificent innings from Jos Buttler. Heinrich Klaasen came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Ravindra was in a hurry to finish things off and he hit Patel for consecutive boundaries to finish the game in favour of the Originals. Ravindra remained unbeaten on 47 off 23 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Klaasen remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls. 6 extras given by the fielding side as Originals were victors by 7 wickets with 16 balls left.
Jacob Duffy picked up 1/16 in 15 balls. Tom Lawes finished with 1/20 in 15 balls while Adil Rashid chipped in with 1/39 in 20 balls as he was taken to the cleaners. Matthew Potts finished with 0/17 in 15 balls while Samit Patel conceded 31 runs in 14 balls. Daniel Lawrence gave 13 runs in 5 balls. So, Manchester Originals won the match and for his fiery innings, Jos Buttler was awarded the Player of the Match.
With this win, Manchester Originals finish their campaign with 12 points from 8 games and at 6th place as they have almost assured themselves of avoiding the wooden spoon. Northern Superchargers who are already through to the playoffs will finish in 3rd place and are set to play the Eliminator on Saturday at the Oval against most probably Trent Rockets.
What Lies Ahead.
The bandwagon moves to Trent Bridge in Nottingham where Trent Rockets will host Birmingham Phoenix at 11 PM IST. Rockets are already through to the playoffs and will want to win to go into the playoffs with winning feeling. There is a minute possibility that they may overtake Oval’s net run rate but for that they need to win by a huge margin. But looks like they will finish second. Birmingham are in 4th place, out of the playoffs race would like to win and end their campaign on a high.
Let’s see how things unfold as we will officially know our top 3 by the end of tonight’s game and who finishes 2nd and 3rd. At this stage, Oval are almost through and guaranteed to play the final on Sunday. Just two league games to go before playoffs as Hundred 2025 reaches its concluding phase.
Also Read: Hundred 2025: Oval Invincibles Consolidate Top Spot After Another Impressive Win Over London Spirit.