In the match no. 15 of The Hundred 2022, Birmingham Phoenix locked horns with Trent Rockets at Edgbaston stadium. The Phoenix skipper, Moeen Ali won the toss and elected to field first. It was a crucial match for both teams. Prior to this game, Trent Rockets didn't lose a single game this season.
Alex Hales and Dawid Malan opened the innings for them. Sadly, both the openers lasted only for eight balls. Alex Hales perished on the third ball while Malan got out on the eighth ball of the innings.
Colin Munro and Tom Kohler-Cadmore joined hands and tried to bring the team back on track after the initial hiccup. However, Munro got out for mere 11 runs off eight balls. Kohler-Cadmore perished for 11 runs off 17 balls.
Wickets at regular intervals kept Birmingham Phoenix at top during the first innings. The Rockets were reduced to 57 for the loss of six wickets in 60 balls. However, Daniel Sams and skipper Lewis Gregory then counter-attacked and shifted gears quickly. Daniel Sams smashed two sixes off Benny Howell's over to push the team's total to 113.
The Rockets ended up amassing 145 runs for the loss of six wickets after 100 balls. Birmingham Phoenix's openers came in with some confidence but Will Smeed, the centurion the other day, got out for just one run. Miles Hammond and Moeen Ali played a few shots to keep the scoreboard ticking. However, once Miles Hammond perished, it was all up to Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone to chase down the score. The skipper did an excellent job as he kept finding boundaries at regular intervals.
Moeen Ali smashed two boundaries and two sixes off Lewis Gregory's over and inched closer towards the target. Luke Wood deceived Moeen Ali for 52 runs, comprising of three fours and five sixes. Livingstone and Matthew Wade ensured that the Rockets reached the target with seven wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.
Here's how Twitter reacted to the brilliant chase by Birmingham Phoenix in match no. 15 of The Hundred 2022:
Captain Moeen Ali leading from the front with the bat for Birmingham Phoenix!๐๐ฅณ
โ WhistlePodu Army ยฎ - CSK Fan Club (@CSKFansOfficial) August 16, 2022
52 Runs | 28 Balls | 3 Fours | 5 Sixes#WhistlePodu #MoeenAli #TheHundred
๐ท Getty Images pic.twitter.com/9G7io0jSLm
Scored just 3 runs in the first 10 balls to end up smashing massive 52(28), Moeen Ali was on song last night in the hundred league. Captain leading from the front ๐ช๏ธ๐ฅ.. #MoeenAli | #TheHundred | #Whistlepodu pic.twitter.com/ClDO8UxzUa
โ ๐ช๐บ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ช (@CSK_Zealots) August 16, 2022
Birmingham Phoenix won by 7 Wickets. What a Performance. Take a Bow Moeen Ali 1/3 & 52(28). Excellent spell @bennytweets_ 3/28. Fabulous Knock @liaml4893 51*(32). #TheHundred @thehundred
โ JaayShaan (VaidhyaJayaShankar) (@JaayShaan) August 16, 2022
Thank you Mo and Livi for making my night special #TheHundred
โ Mayank Mishra (@RawanMayank) August 16, 2022
Cracking night out #TheHundred #BirminghamPhoenix pic.twitter.com/EWrpI601yE
โ steve crann (@stevecrann1) August 15, 2022
Use an emoji to describe the striking from this pair!
โ The Hundred (@thehundred) August 15, 2022
We'll start: ๐#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/KirgsoTTPa
Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone fired the Birmingham Phoenix to a thrilling seven-wicket win over Trent Rockets at Edgbaston. ๐
โ BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 15, 2022
Read all about the match โคต๏ธ#BBCCricket #TheHundred
Birmingham Phoenix better in all three departments than the Rockets tonight. An impressive display. #TheHundred
โ Rob Sutton (@RobSutton97) August 15, 2022
โจ Birmingham Phoenix were propelled to victory on the back of fifties from Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone โจ#TheHundred #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/PKNadhSKsq
โ CricWick (@CricWick) August 15, 2022
Quality. Well managed game again all round. Two half centuries from the big boys. Happy days. #thehundred
โ Birmingham Bears/Phoenix๐ (@BearsPhoenix) August 15, 2022