Welsh Fire vs Manchester Super Giants Match 21 Full Commentary

The players make their way back out to the middle. The Welsh spread out and for the Super Giants, we have a different opening combination. No Aiden Markram, so Tim Seifert will have a new opening partner. And the rumours are true! Tall Paul is indeed coming out to open.

... THE RUN CHASE ...

? Or 10 too many? No idea at this point in time. From 125/0, the Welsh should have got to 170-175. But then, having done so well to claw things back, to concede 15 runs in the last set and let the momentum slip could come back to haunt the home side. The pitch looks a good one to bat upon, but the conditions continue to be tricky. Should be an exciting chase.

Pretty relaxed guy - MATTHEW SHORT is with Lydia Greenway. On being asked about what it's like out there, Short says there was something in the pitch as the new ball did a lot. Details that he just aimed at grinding through that tough phase and then, when the ball lost its shine, he reckons that it got a lot easier to bat on. On how does his preparation change from game to game, especially when playing against a high-pace bowling attack like that of the Super Giants, Short quickly says he doesn't try to think about the opposition too much and more so about what he is doing. Says he is a pretty relaxed kind of a character and just tries to keep the body ticking. About his message to the bowlers, Matthew stresses about sticking to their guns, utilise the new ball and bowl on the Test match length as much as possible. Mentions that their bowlers have done well through the tournament and also points out on bowling the cutters here and there.

Good finish at the death - For the first 75 balls, the home side looked totally at sea. The new-ball bowlers started well but the support bowlers could not offer much support. Additionally, the fielders did not support them on the field, dropping straightforward catches  However, they became a beast towards the end, breaking that opening stand and just bursting through after that. Gus Atkinson was the pick of the bowlers with 2/12 in 15 balls and questions will linger as to why didn't he bowl the last 10 balls on the trot, having bowled a brilliant 19th set, which saw just 3 runs scored for the last 2 wickets. Especially so, when Baker's 20th set went for 15 runs.

Assessment of the conditions - That was done reasonably well by Matthew Short and Phil Salt. They struggled for the first couple of sets but after that, got their act together. They added 125 for the opening stand, in 83 balls, but all the same, would be disappointed to see the batting falling off after that big stand. Short looked brilliant for his 71 while Salt, continuously admonishing himself throughout his innings, even being warned officially for using abusive language, played second fiddle for a change. But with that big a platform, the visitors would have aimed for around 170-175.

50-50? The reactions of both the teams suggest that. Welsh Fire seem pretty happy given that they got past 150 on a difficult batting pitch, but Manchester Super Giants seem equally happy for conceding just 41 runs and picking up 4 wickets in the last 25 balls. It is a new pitch and the conditions are challenging so we better rather sit on the fence for now.

Deep square leg comes in now.

Mid on is coming up. Two back on the leg side and two back on the off side. Into the pitch or a wide yorker?

Atkinson will not continue. Sonny Baker will bowl the final set. 0/23 in 10 balls so far.

No Joe Root still. Marco Jansen has been sent in next, at number 6, replacing Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Also, the home side is behind time, so the OVERRATE PENALTY HAS BEEN IMPOSED. Only 4 fielders allowed outside the ring now.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore walks in next, at number 5, replacing Jordan Cox.

Onto the final 2 sets then. Gus Atkinson will bowl one of those. 0/9 in 10 balls so far.

Rachin Ravindra walks in next, at number 4, replacing Matthew Short.

Paul Walter returns. 0/18 in 10 balls so far.

Over to the next base - Well, this one's done and dusted ever so quickly. The Super Giants pocket four priceless points and vault straight into the podium places, with their bowlers and batters both turning in a job they will be delighted with. As for Welsh Fire, this is only their second defeat of the season, and both losses have come in the same harsh manner, losing by nine-wicket margins while trying to defend a total. They have a bit of a break before their next assignment and would like to assess where they went wrong. There's that from this game, then. But the party's not over, folks! Remember, it's a doubleheader Wednesday, so now the action shifts to Trent Bridge, as Trent Rockets will go up against Birmingham Phoenix. Over there, number 1 plays number 8 on the table. The toss for that match is just around the corner and the first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 5.30 pm GMT. Our buildup has already begun. So feel free to switch tabs and get all the updates from that game. From here, we sign off. Cheers!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - TIM SEIFERT collects the award for his match-winning knock of 62 NOT OUT (36). On their plans about the chase, Seifert says that his side have been losing wickets in the Powerplay, so they just tried to get a good start and maintain a decent run rate. On his new opening partner, Paul Walter, Tim says that in this game, the wind was really blustery. So having a left-right combination helped put the bowlers off. Credits Walter, given that this was his first game. The next question asked is how does the opening pair decide how to attack the bowlers. To this, TS smiles and says that it is hard to decide the tempo. Explains that sometimes you may not get the strike, and be stranded at one end. But is happy that he and Walter managed to rotate the strike nicely. On Manchester's chances for the playoffs, Tim Seifert says that they have got 2 big games. Adds that the tournament is going thick and fast. Hopes that his side uses this win to generate momentum and it serves as a good booster.

... Let's hear it from the man of the moment ...

Plans bulldozed - Fire were all over the place with the ball, coughing up far too many extras, including Ferguson’s repeated oversteps, and never quite finding the right pace to keep the batters guessing. On a surface like this, a bit more variation might have worked wonders, but they kept serving up the same fare and paid the price. Buttler then walked in to join Seifert, who was already motoring along with a fifty of his own, and from there the skipper simply picked off anything remotely loose, cruising to his own half-century with minimal fuss. In this swashbuckling hitting, Jos Buttler also surpassed Keiron Pollard to become the leading run getter in the T20s.

A 'Super Giant' leap to begin with - Fire's hopes were extinguished right in the Powerplay as the hosts' openers slammed 53 from the restrictions. Initially, Walter looked a bit rusty, but as they say, in cricket, you need to connect one ball from the middle, and boy, did he do that in some style. He rained sixes and rattled the bowlers by also overshadowing Seifert's blistering start. Their 74-run opening stand gave them a solid platform before Paul was fished out by Cook. But that was a good outing for him given he came into the side filling the big boots of Markram at the top.

Fired, then got fried - Welsh Fire's openers started with their heads screwed on, reading the conditions before turning the taps on. Matthew Short led the charge by racing to a well-earned fifty just ahead of Phil Salt, who also warmed up nicely after a quiet start. Manchester’s bowlers tried to drag things back with slower balls and a few sticky deliveries, but their efforts were undermined by a messy outing in the field, as a couple of dropped chances handed the openers extra lives. The 125-run opening partnership eventually broke, and although the middle order added a few useful runs through Ravindra and Cox, Welsh Fire crashed down in the last few sets, slipping down from 125/0 to 138/4. From a bowling pov, the likes of Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue were absolutely relentless with their pace, while the likes of Dawson and Walter did well to pull things back as well.

Effortless, merciless, ruthless - Add as many adjectives you want, there couldn't be a more perfect way to describe this run chase. The Super Giants have made an absolute mockery of chasing 156. Salt and Co are left utterly bewildered as to what hit them this evening. Was it a blizzard, or a tornado? Either way, it was pure, relentless destruction. Now, this win with a massive margin resurrects the Super Giants' hopes for qualification as they move up to the third spot, massively improving their net run rate. It has also taken a hefty bite out of Fire’s net run rate, even if they continue to cling on to second spot for the moment.

Have to say, the Welsh Fire look pretty distraught.

Marco Jansen returns. 0/21 in 10 balls so far.

That was quick. Just 5 minutes back, Matthew Short had gone off the field, but he is back on, ready to even bowl now.