Liam Livingstone humiliates Rashid Khan with 4,6,6,6,4 in one over, hands Afghan legend worst figures of his career

The Birmingham Phoenix needed 61 from 25 balls with six wickets in the bank when the Oval Invincibles drew their trump card, Rashid Khan out. The Afghanistan leg-spinner is an ideal choice in such a situation to completely shut the chase with a boundary-less over or a couple of wickets. Liam Livingstone and Rashid Khan

Cricket, however, is a funny game. The exact opposite happened. Liam Livingstone got stuck into Rashid Khan, hitting arguably one of the best white-ball spinners in the world, for three sixes and two fours. The five-ball over yielded 26 runs. Rashid Khan went for 59 runs in his 20 balls -- the most expensive spell in The Hundred and the most expensive in his entire T20 career (The Hundred matches are recorded as T20 games)

Previously, the most runs Rashid had conceded in a T20 match was 55 in an IPL 2018 match against Kings XI.

The over completely changed the complexion of the match, bringing the equation down to 35 off 20 balls. Despite a dramatic last over that started with two wickets, the Phoenix prevailed, winning the match by four wickets. The star of the show was Liam Livingstone, who else? He hit a blistering unbeaten 69 off 27 balls to help Phoenix chase down a challenging target of 181 with just two balls to spare.

Liam Livingstone leads Birmingham Phoenix to a memorable win

In a high-octane contest at Edgbaston, Livingstone produced a captain’s knock of the highest order, smashing five sixes in a dazzling 27-ball innings. His late onslaught and calm under pressure proved decisive as Phoenix registered their first win of the tournament.

Earlier, Oval Invincibles were inserted to bat and made a stuttering start. Will Jacks was dismissed on the second ball, and by the end of the 25-ball powerplay they had reached 31 for 2. They slumped further with Sam Curran falling cheaply, leaving the visitors at 34 for 3. Jordan Cox (44) and skipper Sam Billings steadied the innings, taking the score to 70 for 3 at halfway before Billings departed.

The innings turned with the arrival of South African Donovan Ferreira, who unleashed a ferocious counterattack. He struck 63 off just 29 deliveries, reaching his half-century in only 24 balls and clearing the ropes with ease. His knock included a towering six off Tim Southee to bring up the team’s 100. Rashid Khan added a valuable 16 off 6, including two sixes, while a chaotic penultimate set from Dan Mousley went for 25, featuring two sixes and ten runs in wides. Invincibles eventually closed on 180 for 8.

Phoenix’s reply began nervously as Jason Behrendorff bowled his opening 10 balls for just five runs. Saqib Mahmood then struck with the wicket of Ben Duckett, but Will Smeed countered with a fluent 51 off 29, including back-to-back sixes that shifted the momentum. Smeed was bowled by Nathan Sowter soon after reaching his fifty, with Phoenix on 91 for 3.

The innings wobbled slightly with Jacob Bethell’s dismissal 20 runs later, but Livingstone stepped up, smashing Rashid Khan for 26 in one set and combining effectively with Mousley to bring Phoenix within striking distance. With three needed from five balls, drama unfolded as Mahmood removed Mousley and Louis Kimber with consecutive deliveries. However, Benny Howell kept his cool, driving the hat-trick ball through the covers to seal a thrilling win.

Reflecting on his match-winning effort, Livingstone said: “We needed it, it's been a bit of a disappointing start to the tournament. It's nice to lead from the front and hopefully that gives the boys a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence.”

He added: “I was trying to be there at the end, it's something I haven't done a lot of in my career, so it was in the back of my mind, but we still needed to take some risks. It's an incredible win from where we were.”

Livingstone was named the Meerkat Match Hero for his match-winning performance, one that not only lifted Phoenix off the bottom but also reignited their campaign in this year’s competition.

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