AI Simulations, SB vs NS | Souther Brave break losing streak against Northern Superchargers after win at Rose Bowl

‌Pitch and weather 

It was a typical surface in Southampton, which had a tinge of grass that offered extra bounce and seam movement for the pacers early on but seemed to have flattened and become easier for the batters in the second innings.

Toss 

Northern Superchargers won the toss and elected to bat first

Lineups

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

Northern Superchargers: Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Michael-Kyle Pepper (wk), Harry Brook (c), Dan Lawrence, Graham Clark, Imad Wasim, James Fuller, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Mohammad Amir.

Match Report

Northern Superchargers won the toss and chose to bat on a nice and green wicket at The Rose Bowl Stadium. The opening duo of Zack Crawley and Dawid Malan started well, with Crawley playing the aggressor and Malan rotating the strike at the other end. The Superchargers ended the power play on a solid score of 42/0 after 25 balls. Both batters continued the run-flow until Jofra Archer was introduced after 30 balls, and dismissed Malan on 29 with a short of length delivery which bounced more than he expected and ended up gloving the ball to the keeper. Crawley was dismissed in the very next over on 38 off 25 deliveries while attempting a slog sweep of Michael Bracewell. The scoring rate took a bit of a slump towards the halfway stage, with the score reading 72/2 at the halfway stage. The two quick wickets might have put the Northeners in a spot of bother, but they managed to pull things back with a crucial partnership between Harry Brook and Michael Pepper. Unfortunately, the partnership was broken by Tymal Mills, who dismissed Pepper as soon as the third wicket stand started to look threatening for the hosts. While Brook continued to carry the innings, he barely got any support from the other end as Archer returned for a second five-ball over to knock over the stumps of Dan Lawrence. The next 25 balls were an even battle between the two, with the visitors managing to score 54 runs but losing two wickets in the process as well taking the score to 126/4 after 75 balls. With Harry Brook still at the crease, it looked like the Chargers might get close to the 180-mark, but Archer, Chris Jordan, and Mills kept things tight at the end. While Archer dismissed Brook for 31 in his third over, Jordan continued the Brave's dominance with a double-wicket over, dismissing James Fuller and Matthew Potts with his well-disguised slow off cutters which crashed into the stumps. While a late cameo by Imad Wasim managed to get them to a par score of 158/7, the last 25 balls belonged to Southern Brave, who conceded only 32 runs and took three wickets. 

The Brave's started the chase well with James Vince playing sensibly and Jason Roy playing his signature attacking style of cricket at the top, taking the team to a score of 52/0 at the end of the powerplay. There was no stopping the two batters until the Brave's skipper threw his wicket away while trying to smack a nice flighted delivery from Adil Rashid out of the park and ended up giving a simple catch to Malan at deep mid-wicket. However, the captain's dismissal did not affect the scoring rate at all as Roy continued to play his fearless strokes and was joined by Leus du Plooy, who took over the responsibility from Vince to control the strike at the other end. The Southerners had scored another 44 runs in the next 25 balls to take the score to 96/1 after 50 balls. The hosts seemed to have been in a comfortable position at the halfway stage, but the second half saw the Northeners make a bit of a comeback in the game with a terrific over by Imad Wasim, who dismissed Roy after a brilliant knock of  47 off 29 deliveries. The situation went from bad to worse with Amir bowling a toe-crushing yorker, which sent du Plooy's middle stump cartwheeling. With two new batters at the crease at the end of 75 balls, the Southern Brave's score was 122/3 at the end of 75 balls, and they were in a slightly tricky position needing 37 off the last 25 balls. There was a bit of hope created for the Boys in Purple, with Potts getting the wicket of the dangerous Bracewell, who flicked the ball straight down the throat of deep square leg, but the celebrations were short-lived as Hilton Cartwright and Laurie Evans completely took the game out of their grasp. The duo chased down the target with six wickets in hand and six balls to spare, with Cartwright remaining unbeaten on 28 off 16 deliveries, and Evans finished on a cameo of 15 off just nine deliveries. This was the third consecutive win for Brave, which helped them jump to the top of the points and ended their losing streak against the Northern franchise.

Player of the match

Jofra Archer was the player of the match for his fiery spell of 3/22 in 20 balls.

Scorecard