HARBO THE HERO - LIGHTNING WIN BY A RUN

The Sherwin O’Riordan Leinster Lightning continued their unbeaten IP20 campaign this afternoon in Stormont with a one run win against the Northern Knights.

Skipper Sam Harbinson was ultimately the hero, keeping his nerve in the final over in spite of having bowled a no-ball with just 4 balls remaining!

Harbinson followed that however with four balls which went for just one run each, holding his nerve with some excellent death bowling skills.

It wasn’t just Harbinson who had to hold his nerve, as Amish Sidhu and Fionn Hand bowled the 18th and 19th overs respectively under huge pressure, Hand impressing in particular taking two wickets in his over.

Earlier in the day, Lightning had won the toss and elected to bat, posting a modest total of 142/9 from their 20 overs, thanks mainly to a fine 47 from debutant Monil Patel, who was a late call-up to the side in place of Adam Rosslee who came down with the flu.

Patel’s innings was vital, as the largest partnership in the Lightning innings was just 24, meaning that it was tough to build momentum on a tough batting surface.

The win means the Lightning now move to five wins from six games in the IP20 campaign, with the only game they haven’t won being a rained-off no-result against the North West Warriors.