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What a way to kickoff the knockout stages of the ongoing T20 Blast. Commiserations to the home side for letting their fans down while glory for the Simon Harmer and his lads to seal the deal. We got to witness a cracker jacker of a game and hope to see more more of such action. For not, its a wrap from Arijit Kundu and Pragadeesh. Stay tuned to the Sportskeeda network for more such sporting actions around the globe. Adios!!
Essex Eagles win by 2 wickets.
Sam Hain: 52 (36) | Sam Cook: 2-24 Dan Lawrence: 62 (49) | Jack Lintott: 2-31
It's the day of the Dutch and we get to witness it once again. Shane Snater hits the winning runs in this humdinger and drives the Eagles past the finishing line.
Seven runs were required from the last two overs and all of a sudden we were treated with a nerve-shacking contest in the first Quarter Final of the T20 Blast 2023. An exquisite display of bowling from Dominic Drakes in the 19th over trimmed the equation to 6 needed off 6 balls.
After a good start in the final over, it was Snater who tonked a slot delivery down the ground and pushed his side one step ahead in this competition. Eagles cement a spot in the Semi Finals.
We were treated by a blistering start in this chase of 168 runs, coupled by Adam Rossington, Dan Lawrence and Michael Pepper. While Lawrence looked to play the anchoring role, the other two played their aggressive part within the powerplay. The visitors amassed 69 runs inside the field restrictions.
The spinners came into the fray and regulated the innings quite well. While there were some quickfire from Paul Walter, Simon Harmer, it was Dan Lawrence who tied the knot at one end of the bridge. He notched up 62 off 49 deliveries and just failed to finish the game as Drakes outsmarted him at the beginning of the 19th over.
Eventually, the tailender rescued them with a four in the last over, with a ball to spare.
Earlier, Essex Eagles won the toss and asked the Birmingham Bears to bat first. They lost a couple of wickets early but it was Glenn Maxwell who was commanding strong within the powerplay. He brought up a fiery 32 (23) in an attempt to counter-punch the bowlers.
Right after Maxwell's dismissal, the spinners came into the scene and regulated the game on their own will. Sam Hain scored a gritty fifty and ensured that Warwickshire have some meat to defend. A few lusty blows from Chris Benjamin and Dominic Drakes also helped them boost the total to 168.
19.5 Oliver Hannon-Dalby to Shane Snater, SIX! SNATER DOES IT FOR THE EAGLES AND KNOCKS THE BEARS OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT! WHAT AN EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT THRILLER WE WITNESSED AT THE ICONIC EDGBASTON! Dalby goes full and straight, Snater stands in his crease and smokes it straight down the ground for a maximum
If the match ends in a tie, then the Bears will win the match as they lost only 7 wickets in their innings
19.4 Oliver Hannon-Dalby to Aaron Beard, slow delivery angling in, Beard swings and only manages to get it just over short mid-wicket. They are happy with the single. Over to Snater now!
19.3 Oliver Hannon-Dalby to Aaron Beard, slow delivery on a good length, Beard was deceived for the lack of pace and tries to sneak a bye but Snater denies it
19.2 Oliver Hannon-Dalby to Shane Snater, slow off-pace delivery outside off, Snater tries to power this over mid-off but gets an outside edge and the ball goes towards deep third. One run
19.1 Oliver Hannon-Dalby to Aaron Beard, short outside off, Beard pulls it down to deep mid-wicket for a single
Oliver Hannon-Dalby [1.0-1-12-0] is back with the ball for the indispensible 20th over.
Aaron Beard, LHB, is the new batter in.
How good an over it was? Dominic Drakes, you beauty! Just a single run in the 19th over and the equation has curtailed down to 6 runs needed from 6 balls.
But what has happened here? Okay, Harmer tries to scurry for the single and crashed with Drakes.
Video
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Edgbaston, Birmingham
