aDelhi: Welsh Fire defeated Birmingham Phoenix by seven wickets to register their third consecutive victory in the 15th match of The Hundred Men’s 2026 on Saturday. Played at Edgbaston, the team’s bowlers initially prevented Birmingham from scoring a big total, but then Joe Root and Phil Salt made the target look easy with excellent batting.
Batting first, Birmingham Phoenix scored 137 for 9 in 100 balls. In reply, Welsh Fire achieved the target in just 96 balls for the loss of 3 wickets. Root was named Man of the Match.
Birmingham Phoenix continue to post big scores
Electing to bat first after the toss, Birmingham Phoenix had a poor start. Will Smeed was dismissed for just 9 runs. Mitchell Owen and wicketkeeper Joe Clarke then tried to stabilize the innings.
Joe Clarke top-scored with 35 runs from 23 balls, studded with four fours and two sixes. Captain Donovan Ferreira contributed 23 runs, while Scott Currie made 17, but neither batsman could build a substantial partnership. Wickets fell steadily in the middle order, and the team could only manage 137 runs.
Ferguson and Jansen bowled lethally.
Lockie Ferguson and Marco Jansen bowled brilliantly for Welsh Fire. Both fast bowlers took two wickets each and did not allow the batsmen to play freely.
Chris Woakes, Sam Cook, and Rachin Ravindra also took a wicket each. The bowlers maintained excellent line and length throughout the match, preventing Birmingham from posting a large total.
Phil Salt gives a quick start
Chasing a target of 138, Welsh Fire got off to a flying start with Phil Salt and Joe Root adding 77 runs for the first wicket to make the match virtually one-sided.
Salt scored 46 runs off 36 balls, hitting four sixes. He missed out on a half-century, but his aggressive batting put the team in a strong position.
Joe Root stood firm till the end
Root took charge after Salt’s dismissal. The experienced England batsman batted brilliantly, scoring an unbeaten 58 off 40 balls, including seven fours.
Rachin Ravindra was dismissed for 7, while Jordan Cox made a quickfire 20 off 14 balls. Finally, Tom Kohler-Cadmore made a single to support Root and lead the team to victory.
Birmingham bowlers failed to put pressure
Saqib Mahmood, Chris Wood, and Mitchell Owen each took one wicket for Birmingham Phoenix. However, no bowler could consistently put pressure on the Welsh Fire batting. Welsh Fire scored 138 runs in 96 balls to win the match by 7 wickets.