WF vs TR | Joe Root special helps Trent Rockets knock out Welsh Fire in nerve-wracking tie

‌Trent Rockets progressed to the playoffs of The Hundred Men’s 2025 with a thrilling three-wicket win over Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Sunday. Joe Root anchored his side’s chase before shifting gears during his unbeaten half-century to take the Rockets home with a ball to spare. Meanwhile, the home side’s disappointing campaign continued with their fifth defeat in seven matches, officially confirming their elimination from the tournament.

After being put into bat, Fire struggled to keep pace with pacer Sam Cook dismissing Steve Smith cheaply as the score read 24/1 after the mandatory powerplay of 25 balls. Things went further south as Cook accounted for in-form batter Jonny Bairstow, who tried in vain to take on the short-ball ploy from the pacer, hitting straight to the short square leg fielder Lockie Ferguson. Captain Tom Abell walked in at four as he joined fellow opener Stephen Eskinazi to steady the hosts’ ship. Abell, then, pressed on the gas with two consecutive boundaries off medium-pacer Marcus Stoinis in the 14th over before reverse-sweeping leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed for another four in the next. Eskinazi also joined the act with a four of Rehan’s last ball and two hits to the fence in the first two balls of left-arm spinner George Linde. The home side captain scored his first six of the match when he cleared long off with Ferguson missing his yorker. Another six and four in captain David Willey’s next over meant Fire plundered 75 runs in the 35 balls between overs 11 and 18. But both set batters departed in consecutive balls, hurting their pursuit of compensating for a slow start. Abell had five fours and a six during his knock of 48 from 29 balls before nicking his counterpart Willey straight to the keeper, while Eskinazi was run out for a 42-ball 53. Chris Green’s entertaining cameo of 11 from four balls, including two boundaries, ensured that the home side reached 150/6 in their allotted 100 balls. Sam Cook was the pick among the visitors’ bowlers with a spell of 2/17 in 15 balls, while Willey, Ferguson and Stoinis had a wicket each.

The Rockets were quick off the blocks with Root clearing the fence in the first over from David Payne and Tom Banton backing that up with three boundaries in the left-arm pacer’s immediate next set. That set the tone for the chase as the visitors ended their powerplay at 46/0. Banton continued his surge even after the field restrictions went off as he welcomed Josh Hull into the attack with a six and a four. However, spinner Ben Kellaway dismissed the dangerous-looking opener in his first set to slow the proceedings as the Rockets could manage only 23 runs in the 20 balls after the sixth set. With the visitors sitting pretty at 116/2 and 35 runs required off the last five overs, off-spinner Chris Green’s double-wicket over pegged back the side. But Root was still there as he completed his fifty off 36 balls in the 18th over. However, two more wickets in Payne’s penultimate over flipped the script further and brought the equation to 14 off the last five balls. But the veteran batter kept his calm under pressure to smash a six and two fours off Green to take his side to 152/7. The former England captain finished unbeaten on 64 off 41 balls with four fours and three sixes to his name, while Payne and Green finished with figures of 2/38 and 2/34, respectively, for the home side.