Yorkshire Triumphs Over Lancashire in Thrilling Roses Match in Vitality Blast 2024
Yorkshire Vikings won their second straight home game against Lancashire Lightning with a thrilling seven-run victory in the Vitality Blast at Headingley.
The Vikings emerged victorious in a match that was characterized by a frantic duel on a ground that suited their pace, with Lightning going from 67 for two in the eighth over to 88 for five in the eleventh, and ultimately finishing at 166 for eight.
Lancashire 166 for 8 (Jennings 46) lost to Yorkshire 173 for 8 (Masood 61, Root 43) by a margin of seven runs.
With 61 off 41 balls, home skipper Shan Masood supported Yorkshire’s 173 for eight, while England’s Joe Root chipped in with 43 off 33. Together, they shared 104 for the fourth wicket. Later, to initiate that previously stated little collapse, off-spinner Dom Bess struck twice, including the removal of Keaton Jennings for 46.
The North Group leaders dropped their third game in eight, while Yorkshire triumphed for the fourth time in seven. With two wickets for twenty-one, off-spinner Chris Green was the most effective bowler for Lancashire, while pacer Saqib Mahmood scored three runs.
The easiest way to describe Yorkshire’s innings when they chose to bat is that Lancashire had a strong start and finish, but Masood and Root allowed the hosts to control the middle.
Vikings dropped their opening games. Dawid Malan caught at midwicket with a top-edged pull against Mahmood – 23 for two in the third over – and Adam Lyth was leg before wicket to Green’s opening ball.
Yorkshire took 43 off the six-over powerplay after Root hit back-to-back boundaries to third man and long-leg off Mahmood’s speed in the fifth over to end the match.
Yorkshire were 78 for two at the conclusion of the 10th over, having made solid headway until captain Masood blasted George Balderson’s seamers over midwicket for the first six of the evening.
Sixteen stepped off that over to get things moving.
Masood assumed the role of aggressor, and the Vikings were 117 for two in the fourteenth over by the time he achieved his fifty off 33 balls.
Shortly later, on 58, the left-hander got a reprieve when he walked on his own stumps following a Blatherwick no-ball and was run out while appearing to be in mid-pitch waiting for a dead-ball call. Ultimately, umpires Middlebrook and Lloyd took the side of the Pakistani player, who was dismissed after reaching 126 for two in the fifteenth over.
However, Masood was caught behind down leg by Mahmood in the following over, and Root was caught at mid-on, leaving Yorkshire at 131 for four.
Only 49 runs came off the final six overs for the loss of six wickets, with Green, Blatherwick, and Masood all scoring once more in addition to a run out. These dismissals were also crucial to the Red Roses’ remarkable comeback.
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In the second over of the Lightning chase, Conor McKerr then trapped Josh Bohannon at mid-on, making it six for one.
In the fourth and fifth overs, Jennings struck seven fours in nine balls off Jordan Thompson and McKerr, bringing the total to 43 for one. However, Luke Wells was bowled by off-spinner Bess (two for 26) not long after.
And after eight overs, the Red Rose collapse began when he had Jennings caught at deep mid-wicket, reducing Lancashire to 67 for three.
After Matty Hurst was out for lack of wicket after reverse-sweeping Dan Moriarty’s spin, George Lavelle chipped in a catch to put leggie Jafer Chohan 88 for five in the eleventh.
Balderson and Steven Croft did their best to salvage the situation, but the Lightning’s race was all but over when Root‘s off-spin bowled the former, 124 for six after 16.
Late in the innings, Thompson struck twice after successfully defending 20 off the previous over.
