Match one. Spirit v Fire
All the odds were on a Fire win after their great performances in week one, but Spirit upset matters and, in the end, had a comfortable win. Fire won the toss and elected to bowl. The first Spirit pair had a fast start and ended with a record partnership of 50. That gave Spirit a strong foundation and the following two partnerships built on it, with a final score of 92. Fire had a tentative start, with runs hard to find and wickets falling regularly. The first pair put on 5, leaving a tall order for the remaining pairs. The second pair began well and, with a 23-run over, Fire were just on the required rate, but a three-wicket over was fatal for their chances. The second pair took the score to 28, well behind the rate. Tight bowling and fielding meant the last pair lost five wickets and the final score was 9.
Spirit 92 v Fire 9
Points: Spirit 24, Fire 5
Match two. Spirit v Originals
Following their win over Fire, Spirit went into this game looking for another result that could put them top of the table. Originals were looking for their first win after a close loss to Fire the previous week. Originals won the toss and decided to bowl. The first Spirit pair struggled to get going and good fielding restricted them to 14. The second Spirit pair scored freely and put on 49, giving the final pair a strong platform. They added 37 to post 100. Originals knew they needed a fast start to stand any chance. The first pair put on 28, leaving them slightly behind the rate but still in with a shout. The second pair started well but tight bowling pegged things back and they finished with 23, leaving the last pair needing 50 to win — a tall order. Four wickets fell in their first two overs, including a hat-trick in over 10, which meant 66 were required from the last 10 balls — extremely unlikely — and so it proved, with Originals finishing on 43.
Spirit 100 v Originals 43
Points: Spirit 22, Originals 4
Match three. Rockets v Superchargers
Rockets came into the game looking for their first win after a narrow loss in their opener, and Superchargers were aiming to build on their excellent win over Spirit. Superchargers won the toss and decided to bat. Their first pair had a great start, putting on 30 in the first two overs; tight bowling then slowed the rate, but they still ended on 46, and Superchargers looked set for a large score. The second pair had a tough start, losing two wickets in their first over and never recovering; the pair scored -5, leaving the total 41. Superchargers were still on course for a challenging score. The third pair had a difficult time, regularly lost wickets, and struggled to score; the overall total finished at 15 which, on the face of it, should have meant a comfortable win for Rockets. However, it did not turn out like that. Rockets batted cautiously and, with wickets falling at regular intervals, the result was in doubt to the last ball. Superchargers needed one wicket to win but could not quite manage it, meaning Rockets scraped a win.
Rockets 18 v Superchargers 15
Points: Rockets 21, Superchargers 6
Batters of the week
Bowlers of the week
- James 4-15
- Sabir 4-16
- Dharmesh 3-9