Sunrisers Leeds vs Trent Rockets Match 17 Full Commentary

The players are back out in the middle. Simon Doull on air informs us that towards the last 10-15 balls of the first innings, Trent Rockets seemed to be very happy, probably giving the sense that they believe that 140-plus is definitely going to be very difficult to be hunted down. Mitchell Marsh and Ryan Rickelton might want to have a say in that, as they stride out to open the innings for Sunrisers Leeds. It will be Mohammad Amir to get things rolling in the chase. The Bison to face. Here we go again!

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Use power with brains - That's the advice of Sri Lankan legend, Kumar Sangakkara. He notes that while the score might be a touch under par, it is not easy by any means. Sunrisers Leeds have the batting firepower but they need to use that power wisely by analyzing the conditions and not by just blindly going all out.

Tricky surface to bat on - The hero so far, Trent Rockets' ANEURIN DONALD, comes in for a chat with the broadcasters. On finally getting his chance this season, Donald says it felt great, though he's quick to add he feels for Tom Banton, who has been sidelined by injury. He admits it was nice to get a few away in his own innings, and on his mindset walking in, says he was itching to get going. On the surface, Aneurin concedes it was a tricky one to bat on, and reveals the chat he had with Duckett out in the middle, where the two settled on 140-150 as a good score. On the bowling plans, AD stresses that the more they hit the stumps, the better, and points to the strength of their attack, with the likes of Matt Henry leading the charge.

Excellent bowling display - Take out that whirlwind knock from Aneurin Donald, the passage of around 35-odd balls and the Sunrisers were excellent with their bowling. They varied their pace and lengths well, making the batters search for room and pace. Abrar Ahmed and Brydon Carse set the tone early on, while Matthew Potts and Nathan Ellis stepped it up at the death. Carse was the pick of the bowlers with 2/20, dismissing Allen and Donald.

Two sides of the same coin - Aneurin Donald and Ben Duckett. The former batted like there is no tomorrow while the other believed in the philosophy that tomorrow never dies. After the early dismissal of Finn Allen, Aneurin Donald, playing his first game of the season, came out blasting on all cylinders, smashing a fine 40 (19). Donald was involved in a 63-run stand with Ben Duckett at the other end, who was happy to bide his time. Donald came as an antidote to the slow poison for the Rockets with Sunrisers having no idea on how to stop him. And when they did, Duckett shifted his gears, which is exactly how Dagnall advised batters to play. Factor this - In his first 30 balls, Duckett made just 33. In the next 16, he hammered 31 before being dismissed on the 17th. That is exactly how one needs to play on this pitch. Donald might be an exception which just came off, but ideally, the way Duckett paced his innings is the blueprint for batters' success on this deck.

Struggling batting - Make no mistake, it is a very difficult pitch to bat. Which is why, Charless Dagnall had mentioned before the game that this is not going to be a slam-bang contest. Batters will have to take their time, assess their conditions and then go big. Only Ben Duckett did that, as he was patient for the first half of his innings. The others literally struggled and Tim David hurt his own side the most, consuming 22 balls for just 24 balls, with only 2 hits to the fence.

Happy visitors? One presumes so, at this stage. Just 31/1 in the last 25 balls. The pitch is definitely slow, but one feels that the home side missed out on some crucial 10-15 runs at the end, with some pretty average batting.

Right then. Back to David vs Potts with the bowler being all over the batter in the previous set.

'I am really sorry, I am really sorry, I am really sorry!' That's an apology from Ben Duckett to the square leg umpire as he hit a bail away in frustration. The umpire seems pretty chilled out to that, putting an arm around the southpaw's left shoulder. End of a great knock and Mitchell Santner comes out next, at number 6, replacing Ben Duckett. Matthew Potts will finish the proceedings. 0/25 in 15 balls so far.

Penalty imposed. Sunrisers Leeds have been punished for the slow overrate and one fielder is forced inside the circle. Now, they can have only 4 fielders inside the 30-yard ring for the remaining 8 deliveries.

Potts to continue? Nope. Nathan Ellis will bowl out. 0/20 in 15 balls so far.

FOUR? OR SIX? Being referred upstairs. Given as a four.

Deep point comes in now.

Time to close the door - Phew. What an entertaining few hours of cricket we have witnessed at Trent Bridge. Two proper humdingers that went the distance. Trent Rockets now sit pretty in the upper reaches of the table, the men at the top of their group, the women second in theirs. Attention now shifts to the Kennington Oval, where MI London host Manchester Super Giants. The women's fixture there turned out fairly one-sided, so here's hoping the men's game has more of a fight in it. Our buildup has already begun for that game, and the latest update is that the Manchester Super Giants have won the toss and have opted to field first. And the first ball isn't far away either - set to be bowled at 5 pm GMT. Do feel free to switch tabs and follow all the updates from that match. From this matchcenter, it's goodbye. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Cheers!

Trusted the game all the way - That is what Trent Rockets' BEN DUCKETT says in the interview with the broadcasters. He receives the accolade of PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his responsible knock of 64 (47) and a sharp catch to dismiss Harry Brook. The southpaw says that the Rockets adjusted well to the tricky pitch. Praises Aneurin Donald for playing really well in the Powerplay and taking all the pressure off him (Duckett). On him playing a lot of sweeps in this match, Duckett smiles and admits that he was struggling to play straight, so went for the sweep. Adds that he trusted his game all the way even though he was going slow at the start and was able to catch up in the end. On his team's success, Ben says that the unit is doing well to stick to the basics and winning two matches at home is a great deal.

... Let's hear it from the Player of the Match ...

Just proved to be enough - At the innings break, most of us thought that the Rockets had left, say, about 10 runs on the table. It was a tough pitch to bat on, as the women's game earlier in the day showed too, where the total couldn't even breach 140, but was still defended. Here it was marginally better at 146, but still a score built on graft given how the surface played. Aneurin Donald passed his first test of the season with flying colors, injecting the early momentum the innings needed. Just as it threatened to fizzle, Ben Duckett stepped up and cashed in on his early grind, going on to a well-earned fifty, while Tim David, uncharacteristically, never quite got to grips with the tackiness of the pitch. The Sunrisers, for their part, mixed their lengths smartly throughout with Abrar, Carse and Ellis sharing the spoils.

That's exactly the kind of knowledge Mohammad Amir brought to the table when his side needed it most. In a stretch of just ten deliveries, he struck twice, removing both set batters, Brook first, then Marsh, and handed the momentum right back to the Rockets. The caution from that pair of Brook and Marsh, though, wasn't without cost. Boundaries had all but vanished through that middle phase, with the 71-run stand built almost entirely on nudged singles and doubles and a few sprinkled boundaries here and there. Hence, the required rate quietly crept up in the background even as things looked settled from the outside. And in the end, the Rockets, backed by the brilliance of Amir and Gregory to an extent, denied the late flourish and gave the home crowd a proper delight.

A heavy graft - What Duckett did for the Rockets, Marsh tried to match for the Sunrisers. The difference lay at the other end. Duckett found no real support once Aneurin Donald departed, whereas Marsh, despite struggling badly to time the ball, ticked along preserving his wicket, and had company in Brook, who took a rather different route. Brook resisted the urge to go all guns blazing and leaned on ones and twos instead, just keeping the scoreboard moving even when the boundaries dried up. At one point, that restraint looked to be the right call, and in the process, it did flush away any hopes of a collapse.

Grind now, cash in later - Slow starts were the entry fee on a pitch like this. Neither batting group could free their arms early, and both innings ended up shaped by the same underlying truth - putting in the hard yards up front is what earns the right to accelerate later, banking balls and wickets in hand so there's ammunition left. The Rockets did their bit here too, reining in the Sunrisers to 46/2 and keeping their in-form top order on a tight leash. They unleashed the right variations by taking pace off and making the batters desperate to force the issue.

Sunday blockbusters in Nottingham - Well and truly. The Trent Bridge crowd is on its feet for the second time in the day, treated to a rare double, with both the women's and men's sides defending their totals in almost identical fashion. First, Ashleigh Gardner and her troops held firm under pressure, and now Sam Billings and his men have gone and done exactly the same. All in all, it was a properly contested game and it all came down to who held their nerves and nailed their execution just when it mattered. With this, the Trent Rockets speed to 16 points and defend the pole position as well. Hard luck for the Sunrisers Leeds. They fought really hard, almost got close to the finish line, but just couldn't get the job done.

Committee meeting going on out there. Ben Duckett, Sam Billings, Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton involved.

Lewis Gregory will finish things off. 0/21 in 15 balls so far.

Tom Alsop walks in next, at number 6, replacing Mitchell Marsh. Matt Henry is back on. 0/16 in 10 balls so far.

Dan Lawrence walks in next, at number 5, replacing Harry Brook. And Mohammad Amir will continue on and bowl out.