Vince classic outclass Welsh Fire to lit up the opening night
Southern Brave's players entering the field
Bowlers looked heavy on the Welsh batters
The second season of The Hundred was set ablaze with opening night fireworks both off and on the field, with James Vince being the star of the show. The Southern Braves' show started where they left it off last season as champions in the inaugural season of the tournament.
Having been put into bat, the Welsh Fire crumbled early, losing the wicket of the fourth ball with zero on the board. After that, however, the story continued for the Welsh team, as the only player to cross the 11-run mark was Ben Duckett with a gutsy 40 off 31 deliveries.
The Fire barely managed to breach the 100-run mark, reaching a meagre of 107 in their allotted 100 balls. Thanks to a collective bowling effort from the Braves', with Craig Overton and Chris Jordan grabbing two wickets a piece and the rest putting sufficient pressure from the other end.
Skipper Vince plays another gem of an innings
With a below-par score of 107, never going to be enough, the Southampton-based side launched an attack led by skipper Vince, chasing the score with 31 balls remaining.
None of the bowlers looked effective as the dropped chance of Vince on the fifth delivery proved too costly for the visitors. However, the skipper was in no mood to let this opportunity go, scoring 71 off just 41 balls with an impressive strike rate of 173, for which he was adjudged player of the match.
Not just two points, but the Southern Braves' earned a very healthy net run rate of 3.8, giving them a kickstart into the competition. On the other hand, things already look tough for the Welsh side.
Brief Scores:
Welsh Fire: 107-7 (100)
Ben Duckett 40 (31), Ryan Higgins 11 (18);
Chris Jordan 2/16 (15), Craig Overton 2/21 (20)
Southern Brave: 109/1 (69)
James Vince 71* (41), Alex Davies 26 (21);
Jake Ball 1/25 (19), Ryan Higgins 0/5 (5)
Match Result: Southern Brave won by 9 wickets.
.jpg?im=Resize=(250, 250) "Arnav Chopra")
