Manchester Originals defended 162 for 5 to beat Trent Rockets by four runs in The Hundred, restricting the chase to 158 for 8 at the close. The match turned on the final set of five, where the Rockets needed 13 and could not find the boundary that would have reversed the result. Originals captain Jos Buttler top-scored with 58 from 41 balls, and the bowling unit held its shape under pressure.
Match Summary
Originals chose to bat and built their innings around Buttler, who anchored the top order after an early wicket. He added 74 with Phil Salt, and a late surge from Laurie Evans pushed the total to 162 for 5. The Rockets used six bowlers, with Rashid Khan the most economical, conceding 24 from his 20 balls.
The chase followed a similar pattern. Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Alex Hales gave the Rockets a platform, and Joe Root steadied the middle overs with 45 from 38. But the required rate climbed as the Originals bowled into the blockhole, and the Rockets lost three wickets in the last 15 balls.
Needing 13 from the final five, the Rockets managed only eight. Sam Cook and Josh Little conceded no boundaries in that closing sequence, and a run-out off the penultimate ball ended the contest.
Tactical Breakdown
Originals set a clear batting template: Buttler faced the majority of the powerplay, targeting the shorter square boundary, while Salt and Evans attacked the seamers through the off side. The Rockets' spinners, Rashid and Imad Wasim, bowled 40 balls between them for 51 runs, which slowed the middle overs but left the seamers to defend at the death.
In the field, the Originals used Little and Cook in short, high-intensity spells rather than long ones. Little bowled his 20 balls in two bursts, and Cook took the final set, mixing wide yorkers with slower balls into the pitch. The Rockets' middle order, Root aside, struggled to rotate strike against the change of pace, and the boundary options narrowed as the field spread.
The key matchup was Buttler against Rashid. Buttler did not attempt to dominate the leg-spinner, taking 18 from 15 balls against him, and instead attacked the seamers. That restraint kept wickets in hand for the final 25 balls, which proved decisive.
Decisive Moments
The 16th ball of the Originals innings, when Evans hit two sixes off Luke Wood, added 14 runs and shifted the par score. Before that over, the Originals were tracking below 150.
In the chase, the 85th ball was the turning point. Root, who had timed the chase well, was caught at long-on attempting a second six off Little. That left the Rockets needing 34 from 15, and the required rate never came back under control.
The final set decided it. Cook conceded four from the first three balls, then bowled a wide yorker that Kohler-Cadmore could only dig out for one. The run-out on the next ball, with the batters attempting a second, removed the set batter and left the last ball meaningless.
Tournament Outlook
The win moves the Originals into the top three on net run rate and keeps their qualification path in their own hands. Their death bowling, which conceded only 31 from the last 25 balls, is the most repeatable part of their game.
The Rockets stay in contention but have now lost two matches they controlled at the 80-ball mark. Their middle order has scored at 7.2 runs per set in those chases, below the tournament average, and that pattern will decide whether they reach the knockout stage.
