The first-ever edition of the men’s finals of the Hundred took place between Southern Brave and Birmingham Phoenix. Southern Brave dominated the entire match from start to finish and as a result, they won by 48 runs to win the inaugural title of the Hundred.
Getting into details of the Final, Birmingham Phoenix’s captain Moeen Ali won the toss and decided to field first. However, the decision proved to be costly because Paul Stirling smashed the Birmingham bowlers all over the place. Even though the bowlers dismissed the dangerous Quinton De Kock early the Southern Brave rode on Stirling’s impressive 61 and headed towards a grand total.
Following the Irish opener’s dismissal, Ross Whiteley scored very rapidly and ended with an unbeaten score of 44 from 19 balls. As a result, Southern Brave finished off the first innings at 168-5 overs. Therefore the Moeen Ali led side had to chase this huge total of 169 runs in 100 deliveries.
Top performers of the first innings: Paul Stiriling – 61 of 36, Ross Whitely- 44 of 19, Adam Milne: 2-8.
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Disciplined Bowling performance helps Southern Bravo win the first ever title of the Hundred against Birmingham Phoenix
In order to chase down a mammoth total of 169, Birmingham Phoenix needed a good opening stand. However, Southern Bravo did not allow that to happen as they dismissed both the openers very cheaply. Following the early wickets, the entire match was dependent on Birmingham’s best performer Liam Livingstone.
Along with Moeen Ali, Livingstone started attacking the Southern bowlers at a rapid rate. However, the bowlers clamped Ali and hence he was not able to keep up with the scoring rate. Consequently, Liam Livingston succumbed to this pressure as the required runs per over was increasing rapidly. As a result, he lost his concentration and was run out by Tim David.
After Livingstone’s wicket, the bowlers gasped a sigh of relief. Consequently, the target was out of reach once the dismissal of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone. Therefore the Birmingham Phoenix scored a total of 136 for the loss of five wickets and as a result, Southern Brave won the final by 32 runs.
In the end, Paul Stirling was declared the hero of the match for his brilliant 61. Further, the Player of the Tournament was awarded to Birmingham Phoenix’s Liam Livingstone.
Top Performers of second innings: Liam Livingstone – 46 of 19 balls, Moeen Ali – 36 of 30 balls, Tymal Mills: 1-13.
