AI Simulation, MO vs SB | Jofra Archer shines with fiery three-wicket haul as Brave ensure six-wicket win against Originals

‌Pitch and Weather

The surface at Old Trafford offered some decent bounce and seam movement at the start. As the ball got older the spinners came into the game with a bit of grip from the wicket.

The conditions were slightly overcast in Manchester, but there was no sign of rain at the venue.

Toss

Southern Brave won the toss and elected to field first

Lineups 

Manchester Originals: Phil Salt (c), Rachin Ravindra, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben McKinney, Matty Hurst, Lewis Gregory, Heinrich Klaasen, Scott Currie, Tom Hartley, Noor Ahmad, Josh Tongue, James Anderson.

Southern Brave: Finn Allen (wk), James Vince (c), Jason Roy, Laurie Evans, Hilton Cartwright, Leus du Plooy, Michael Bracewell, Craig Overton, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills.

Match Report

The Southern Brave won the toss and chose to field in overcast conditions. The Manchester Originals started well as the English duo of Philip Salt and Jos Buttler started the proceedings with some attacking shots. The Manchester franchise looked comfortable in the first 25 balls with the score at 46/0. However, the Brave managed to come back in the game thanks to Jofra Archer, who bowled a ten-ball over and dismissed both batters.  While Buttler was dismissed for 36 as he saw his middle stump uprooted by a straight and full delivery, the Originals skipper got an outside edge which went straight into the hands of the keeper. This was the moment of magic the Brave needed as they started to dominate the middle phase of the match with big scalps as Rachin Ravindra lobbed a slower delivery of Tymal Mills straight to the covers and Bert McKinney was trapped in front of his stumps by Craig Overton in the next over. The home team was suddenly struggling at 69/4 after 50 balls. There was a decent partnership between Lewis Gregory and Matty Hurst in the middle, which gave some respite to the batting side. However, Chris Jordan returned after an expensive 10-ball spell in the beginning, with a double strike over as he knocks over both batters with well-disguised slower in-dipping yorkers. The situation had gone from bad to worse as Archer returned with a five-ball spell to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen and completing his three-wicket haul in the process. At the end of 75 balls, the Originals were in a precarious position at 115/6. The innings never got going at all as the two last recognized batters in Tom Hartley gifted an easy caught n bowled chance to Michael Bracewell, and Scott Currie attempted a cross-batted shot only to be caught at mid-wicket off Mills. In the end, they finished on a below-par score of 142/9 in their 100 balls.

The Originals needed early wickets to get back into the game, but Finn Allen and Brave skipper James Vince had other plans as they started playing some positive strokes and put on 53 runs in the first 25 balls of their innings. Though it seemed like the Brave were coming back into the game as Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad dismissed both the openers. The situation seemed to get worse as Josh Tongue also came back after an expensive 10-ball spell at the start and dismissed Jason Roy and Laurie Evans as the team was in a bit of trouble with the score at 75/4 halfway into their chase, needing 68 off the last 50 deliveries. Though it seemed like a tough ask, an important partnership was formed by Hilton Cartwright and Leus du Plooy. The 44-run stand between the two brought the equation down to just 24 off just 19 deliveries. Cartwright was dismissed by Lewis Gregory after a brilliant  27 off just 19 deliveries, and Du Plooy became Anderson's first scalp in the Hundred. Unfortunately, these breakthroughs did not make much of a difference as Bracewell and Overton made sure the chase was complete with eight balls to spare.

Player of the match 

The player of the match was awarded to Jofra Archer for his incredible spell of 3/19 in his 20 balls.

Scorecard