Vitality Blast T20 : Lancashire Lighting dominated as Leicestershire Foxes fell short of a competitive total
Unbeaten North Group leader Lancashire Lighting has won five of the six matches as they defeated Leicestershire in the sixth one by seven wickets and 23 balls to spare. Leicestershire Foxes has lost all three home Vitality Blast fixtures
Vitality Blast T20 Cricket, Lancashire Lighting batters dominateFoxes opted to bat first, looking at the surface but were bundled out for just 135, failing to play even complete 20 overs despite a 50 from Lewis Hill. Lancashire spinners stole the show by sharing six wickets and conceding just 73 runs in 11 overs. Getting a dicey start with openers, Lewis Hill built a 30-run partnership with Scott Steel, who got dismissed by Livingstone for six runs, followed by 41 run partnership with Aaron Lilley (19) to reach his 50 in 34. Parkinson took Lilley and captain Colin Ackermann joined Lewis Hill. In no time, the team got reduced from 103/5 to 125/8 in the 17th over. Naveen-ul-Haq lost his wicket in a run-out, whereas the captain scored 25 off 27 before Danny Lamb dismissed him as 10th wicket with five balls remaining to play.
Keaton Jennings and Phil Salt opened for Lancashire to chase the target of 136 runs. Having taken a five-wicket haul in the previous match, Naveen-ul-Haq got the first breakthrough by dismissing Keaton Jennings. Phil Salt, however, stitched an 81-run partnership in 51 balls with Steven Croft. Naveen once again successfully broke their partnership dismissing Salt (38). Steven Croft (45), too, lost his wicket in a run-out by Naveen. Dane Vilas and Tim David flexed their muscles to complete the remaining job and seal a seven-wicket win for Lancashire.
Lancashire will lock horns with Yorkshire Vikings on 8th June 2022, looking to carry forward winning momentum. In contrast, Leicestershire will take the field against Derbyshire on 9th June 2022 as both the teams will be coming off after a loss and thus look to get back to winning ways.