A fired-up Liam Livingstone brilliantly took down Rashid Khan to steer Birmingham Phoenix house in an exciting and unlikely chase of 181 in opposition to defending champions Oval Invincibles within the males’s Hundred.
The Phoenix, crushed in each of their first two fixtures, wanted 61 runs from 24 balls with six wickets left earlier than captain Livingstone struck 5 balls from celebrity Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid for 26 runs, with three sixes and two fours.
With 22 required from the final 10, he thrashed Tom Curran for one more two sixes to place Phoenix on the brink.
Then, with three to defend from the final 5, Saqib Mahmood took two wickets in two balls however Benny Howell drove a 4 and Livingstone completed 69 not out from 27 – Phoenix finishing the third-highest chase in The Hundred with 4 wickets and two balls to spare.
There was needle between the edges all through the competition, with Curran showing to have fun within the route of Livingstone after he dismissed Jacob Bethell for eight, at which stage Livingstone had 16.
“I do not know why Tom began to spray me,” Livingstone instructed BBC Two.
“He’s one in all my good pals and he known as me a fats slob or one thing so I believed ‘let’s hope you do not go for just a few for those who come again on the dying’ and he did so I am sort of pleased with that.”
Rashid’s ultimate figures – 0-59 from 20 balls – are the costliest within the match because the Invincibles’ successful begin to the match ended.
Donovan Ferreira had seemingly put them in management by hitting a brutal 63 from 29 balls to raise the Invincibles to 180-8.
As an alternative, Livingstone, backed up by 51 from 29 by opener Will Smeed, produced probably the greatest knocks in The Hundred, sealing one of many extra unbelievable victories.
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