Time to wrap up this coverage, folks! For now, it's me, Deepak Prakash, signing off on behalf of the co-commentator Arijit Kundu and scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal. CHEERS!
12:54 AM IST, 8:24 PM Local Time: A comprehensive victory for Worcestershire Rapids as they outclassed Nottinghamshire by 45 runs and keep their hopes alive in the ongoing T20 Blast. On the other hand, it's the end of the road for Nottinghamshire in this tournament.
Earlier, Worcestershire put on a strong batting display to post 206/7 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first by Nottinghamshire. Worcestershire got off to a brisk start with Isaac Mohammed scoring 27 off 15 balls, including 3 sixes.
The highlight of the innings was a blistering knock from Ethan Brookes, who smashed 57 off just 20 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes. Skipper Brett D’Oliveira anchored the innings with 46 off 36 deliveries, while Kashif Ali (34 off 21) and Adam Hose (33 off 21) kept the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs. However, a flurry of late wickets meant they couldn’t fully capitalize on their foundation, losing 4 wickets in the last two overs. For Nottinghamshire, Daniel Sams and Dillon Pennington were the standout bowlers, each picking up 3 wickets, although Sams was expensive, conceding 53 runs. Liam Patterson-White chipped in with a wicket as well.
Nottinghamshire faltered in their chase of 207, getting bowled out for 161 in 18.2 overs. The top order collapsed early, with Freddie McCann (3), Jack Haynes (1), and skipper Joe Clarke (13) falling inside the powerplay. Moises Henriques chipped in with 18 off 16 balls, but it was the middle-order duo of Matthew Montgomery and Tom Moores who revived the chase. Montgomery smashed a rapid 47 off 22 balls, while Moores blazed his way to 57 off 29 ball. Their counter-attacking partnership gave Nottinghamshire hope, but once Montgomery was dismissed in the 11th over, the innings unraveled quickly. Moores fell soon after, and the lower order couldn't offer resistance, losing the final five wickets in a jiffy.
For Worcestershire, Ethan Brookes capped off a brilliant all-round show with 3/30 in 4 overs, while Ben Allison also picked up 3 wickets for 37 runs in 3.2 overs. Tom Taylor (4-0-24-2) and Khurram Shahzad (3-0-18-2) contributed a couple of wickets each to the downfall.
W WICKET! BOWLED'EM! Allison puts the final nail in the coffin, and Worcestershire win by 45 runs! Much fuller and slower on the middle stump line. Pennington makes room and swings at it, but fails to get his bat down in time. The ball sneaks past the bottom edge of the bat and thuds the base of middle stump.
18.1 B Allison to O Stone
1 Over the wicket. Good length slower on the stumps. Punches it down to long-on for one.