LIGHTNING BLITZ KNIGHTS IN SENSATIONAL RUN-CHASE

A truly sensational day's cricket in Sydney Parade saw the Sherwin O'Riordan Leinster Lightning claiming an unbelievable victory against the Northern Knights in the second IP50 game of the season.

Lorcan Tucker won the first battle of the day, winning the toss and electing to bowl first on a fresh wicket. However for much of the first 10 overs, that was the only victory the side could claim, as after a chance went begging through the slips, Ross Adair proceeded to find the boundary almost at will for much of the remainder of the PowerPlay overs.

Gavin Hoey claimed the first breakthrough, taking a smart return catch off James McCollum, before Adair sliced a George Dockrell delivery to backward point, where Curtis Campher dived forward to take a smart catch, however the opener had made 95 from just 41 deliveries at that stage, and given the Knights a strong start.

Leinster took the arrival of Cade Carmichael and Morgan Topping as the opportunity to tighten proceedings, however on an improving batting wicket, any over which could be contained to a run-a-ball was a win for the bowling side.

The pressure paid off, as a brilliant catch at backward point from Harry Tector saw Carmichael dismissed for 27, however this brought Ruhan Pretorius to the crease, who played a fine hand alongside Topping, however the Lightning bounced back once again, dismissing them both within the space of just 2 runs to regain some momentum.

Shane Dadswell's 41 from 16 balls boosted the score, however when David Delany dismissed both he and Tom Mayes, it allowed the Lightning to once again halt some momentum, keeping the Knights to 414/8 in their 50 overs, with a score of up to 30 more undoubtedly on the cards going into the last 10 overs.

The chase suffered the loss of Tim Tector early on, however when Chris de Freitas joined Stephen Doheny at the crease, the duo took the PowerPlay on with controlled aggression. Together they added 115 in just 12.5 overs, before Doheny was out for a fine 58 from just 41 deliveries.

There followed another fine stand between de Freitas and Harry Tector, before the left-hander was eventually dismissed for an excellent 116 from just 76 deliveries, stroking 17 boundaries and 3 maximums in setting the side up nicely for the remainder of the chase. Lorcan Tucker added 23 along with Tector, before being dismissed for 13.

Tector set about anchoring the innings with just 162 left to win from the final 20 overs, and he added a further 54 along with Curtis Campher (30), in taking the score beyond 300 before half of the side had been dismissed. When George Dockrell fell, the side needed 95 from the final 60 deliveries of the innings, with Tector and in-form David Delany at the crease.

That pair added 57 in the next 30 deliveries, putting the side back ahead of the game, however when Tector fell agonisingly short of a deserved century, bringing another in-form batter to the crease in Gavin Hoey, who was also fresh off the back of a ton on Sunday in the Leinster Senior Cup. He and Delany added a further 30 to the score before Delany was caught for 41 from just 24 deliveries, taking the side to the brink of victory.

Jai Moondra blasted the third last ball of the innings to the straight boundary, seeing the Lightning claim the second-highest List A chase of all time, second only to the famous chase of 434 by South Africa in March 2006.

This win sees the side move to one win from two games in the competition, heading into Thursday's tie with the North West Warriors with a chance to go top of the table after three games.