Buttler sets T20 run record in Super Giants' victory
Jos Buttler became the all-time leading run-scorer in T20 cricket as Manchester Super Giants defeated Welsh Fire by nine wickets in The Hundred.
Manchester Super Giants claimed a dominant nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire in The Hundred men's competition at Old Trafford, and the night belonged to Jos Buttler as he became the most prolific run-scorer in T20 history.
The 35-year-old England batter surpassed Kieron Pollard's career total of 14,803 runs when he launched the first of three straight sixes off Duan Jansen. Buttler ended on 51 from just 20 balls, hitting two fours and six sixes, and sealing the chase with back-to-back sixes down the ground off Lockie Ferguson. Tim Seifert anchored the innings with an unbeaten 62 from 36 deliveries as Super Giants hunted down their target of 156 with 31 balls to spare.
Welsh Fire had earlier made a solid start after captain Phil Salt elected to bat first, an unusual decision after winning the toss. Salt and Matt Short shared an opening stand of 125, with Salt scoring 48 from 37 and Short 71 from 47. The pair combined for 11 fours and five sixes. The partnership was broken when Salt was caught in the deep off Josh Tongue from the 83rd ball of the innings. His dismissal triggered a mini-collapse, with four wickets falling for just 13 runs. Short was caught at long-on off Paul Walter, while Jordan Cox and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were both caught on the boundary off Gus Atkinson. Fire finished on 155-4.
Super Giants' reply began with a strong opening effort of their own, as Seifert and Walter put together 74 from 35 balls. Walter, playing his first match of the tournament after Aiden Markram withdrew for personal reasons, made 37 off 18, including five consecutive boundaries off Jansen and Rachin Ravindra. The home side finally removed the tall opener through a brilliant piece of fielding by Ben Kellaway at the mid-wicket rope: Kellaway threw the ball into the air as he stepped over the boundary, then stepped back inside to catch it. From there, Super Giants kept up their tempo and sealed a victory that lifted them to third place, four points behind Fire in second.
