Welsh Fire vs Southern Brave Match 2 Full Commentary

Welcome back for the chase. Chris Jordan has gathered his men in a huddle before they take the field. The Fire skipper, Phil Salt walks out to open alongside Matthew Short. Luke Wood will kick things off with the ball. Here we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Looking ahead - As they say, you don't judge a surface until both teams have batted on it. With the evening setting in and the conditions cooling down, the ball usually starts coming onto the bat more nicely. Whether that proves to be the case remains to be seen. If not, Welsh Fire will have to scrap hard for every run. It is all set up for an intriguing chase. Stay tuned.

A quick word - Ben Kellaway says that they have done well and the bowlers used their skills with efficiency, and feels that they have the batting to gun it down. On his catch, he says that fielding on this ground can be a bit tricky and was probably a bit lucky as well to avoid the boundary ropes. Adds that he was slow to start in the Blast, but the last 4-5 games have given him the confidence to do well here.

Brave made to grind - Unsure of how the dry surface would play, Phil Salt opted to bowl first, and his bowlers responded with a disciplined effort up front. It was a laboured innings from Southern Brave, with none of their batters able to get to grips with the surface or score freely. David Miller fought hard right through the innings and helped the Brave put up a fighting total. Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers for Welsh Fire with a couple of wickets, while Chris Woakes and Sam Cook also played their part.

End of a cagey first innings - It's a competitive total on what has been a sluggish surface, but whether it will prove enough remains to be seen. 45 runs came off the last 20 balls, and Brave will take a bit of momentum with them into the break.

The Brave skipper, Chris Jordan is in next.

Sam Cook to close out the innings.

Jofra Archer is in next.

Chris Woakes to bowl out now.

The early trend continues - We have had a couple of days of the new season, and so far, the franchise that wins in the Women's match doesn't manage to follow up in the Men's match. Earlier on, we saw Welsh Fire Women crumble under no pressure and hand Southern Brave Women the win. However, the Men have managed to cling on and get a 'W' against the name of Welsh Fire. The double-headers continue in The Hundred, 2026, and next up it is time for London Spirit to take on Manchester Super Giants at Lord's on Thursday, July 23. The Women's fixture will get underway at 1.45 pm GMT (7.15 pm IST), followed by the Men's fixture at 5.30 pm GMT (11 pm IST). Also, please do join us for the build-up of both games a lot sooner. Cheers!

Let's now hear from Rachin Ravindra - Rachin says it was pleasing to play his part in an important partnership. He adds that it quickly became clear the surface wasn't a free-flowing T20 wicket, so the focus shifted to running hard between the wickets and playing good cricket shots. Adds that communication within the group was excellent throughout the game. He also praises the support staff, saying Michael Hussey and his coaching team made the transition into the squad seamless. Ravindra reserves special praise for Phil Salt, calling him a special cricketer who showed plenty of maturity during the chase and led by example. He finishes by saying he is excited to play the next game in front of the home crowd and hopes the team can keep the momentum going.

Pitch proved to be a tough one - Just as we saw in the Women's game earlier on, this hybrid surface ended up being a bit more difficult to bat on than usual. After being put into bat, Southern Brave lost a couple of wickets early. Right throughout the innings, they found it a bit difficult to get going, but the likes of Thomas Rew and David Miller played crucial knocks. Nikhil Chaudhary too mustered up a cameo as the Brave got to a middling total of 135. Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers, and he used the surface to his advantage.

Player of the Match - Welsh Fire skipper Phil Salt gets the award for his match-winning knock of 47 not out off 37 balls. Salt says the conditions were certainly not easy and feels that winning the toss was important, as it allowed his side to pace their innings. He adds that keeping wickets gives him a chance to gauge how the surface plays before he goes out to bat. Salt believes it was a pitch where batters needed to give themselves time and bat deep to make the impact they wanted. He credits Rachin Ravindra for changing the course of the chase, saying his positive approach took the pressure off him. Phil also praises his side's fielding, calling it electric, especially on a big ground. Reflecting on the overall performance, he says the bowlers consistently hit the right areas and believes there is still a little more left in the tank with both bat and ball. He finishes by saying he has thoroughly enjoyed being part of the group and that the freshness of joining a new team has been refreshing.

Always chasing the game - Things might seem really close when you look at the scoreboard, but Southern Brave were always behind in the game. They did extremely well to just not let the opposition get completely out of sight, but it was always a matter of a couple of boundaries. Luke Wood was a bit wayward to begin with, and the Brave failed to do much damage in the Powerplay. They then let a partnership flourish in the middle overs before mounting a late comeback led by Nikhil Chaudhary. Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer too did well to keep them in the hunt, but Chris Jordan conceded a couple of boundaries in the final set, and it was all over.

Gritty Salt silences the home crowd - 136 needed for the win, and it never looked like a target that was a big one. However, the surface did offer something for the bowlers, and even after a decent start, Welsh Fire were never really out in front. Matthew Short and Joe Root got starts, but then the stand between Rachin Ravindra and Phil Salt did turn the tide in favour of the visitors. The Fire then let things slip and lost a few wickets, and it was Salt who struck the telling blow on the 98th ball to seal a memorable win.

Lightning does strike twice, well almost - Welsh Fire steal it right at the death, but it should have been well over with at least 10 or so balls to spare. The Women let things slip from a position of promise earlier in the day, and the Men nearly joined them in gifting the opposition a win, but Phil Salt has managed to take his side over the line.

Who will bowl the final set? The Brave have a few options up their sleeves, but it will be the skipper, Chris Jordan himself.

Jofra Archer to continue, but from the other end. He'll bowl the crucial penultimate set. 14 needed off 10 balls.

Just 1 run off that set of 5, and this game is still on. Jofra Archer is back on.

Asa Tribe walks out to bat next.