The dual between Fires and Superchargers at Headingley was dangling in a cliffhanger. Harry Brooke seemed in complete charge of the chase, but there arrives Qais Ahmad for his final set of five in the 17th over of the innings. Cunningly chucks out both, Simpson & Brooke in the space of three deliveries to tilt the balance in favour of Welsh Fire. Eventually, Qais established himself as the biggest difference between the two sides and his four major scalps denied Superchargers their first victory at home turf.
The impact which Qais has created for Welsh Fire
Indeed Qais had a dream debut in the Hundred. The think tank of Welsh Fire must be very pleased with his miserly & match-winning efforts of 4/13 in 20 balls with no boundaries to his credit. Before plunging into The Hundred, Qais was representing Spitfires in the Vitality Blast. There he accumulated just 5 wickets in 9 matches, in spite of being economical in most of his spells.
Superchargers were never comfortable facing subtle variations of Ahmad. They were only rotating the strike by knocking him around for singles. As and when they decided to charge him back, lost their wickets due to some smart & accurate bowling. Qais persisted with better line & lengths throughout & kept the pressure on. Skipper Bairstow used him in short spells of five at crucial moments. He was brought back to provide key breakthroughs for his team & never used him at one go.
Rashid & Mujeeb had an ordinary debut but Nabi did well in The Hundred
Contrary to Qais, Rashid & Mujeeb had a forgettable day with the ball. They both failed to pick any wickets in their full quota of spells. Although in an earlier fixture, Nabi played well against the Phoenix. He squeezed up 1/18 off his 20 & remained unbeaten on 6 to close the innings for Spirits.
It’s a fast-paced game but the management of Spirits had sent Bopara ahead of Nabi who was finding it difficult to launch big shots. Nabi eventually arrived after the fall of Ravi but had too few deliveries to cash in. Today Spirits are going to face Invincibles at the Lords. It needs to be seen whether Nabi gets a batting promotion ahead of Bopara or not.