On January 6, 2022, at the Basin Reserve, Wellington Firebirds thrashed the visiting Otago Volts by eight wickets (DLS) with eleven balls to spare in a rain-interrupted affair. Wellington make two-in-two against Otago for the season. With this win, Wellington moved north to the third spot with twelve points from six games, while Otago stay glued to the last spot with just one win from eight matches.
Chasing 158 to win, Finn Allen took on the Otago’s bowlers early on as he smoked a quickfire 68 from just 32 balls which contained five sixes and four boundaries. He along with his opening partner Tim Robinson put up an 82-run stand for the first wicket. After the dismissal of both the openers in quick succession, skipper Michael Bracewell and Troy Johnson Started to stitch together another partnership. When the Firebirds were 110/2 in 11.4 overs the rain came and halted the match's progress. It took a while to resume the match again. The match was reduced to 15 overs and the target was revised to just 117 for the Firebirds. They made sure that they won this without further damage.
Earlier, Otago won the toss and elected to bat first. They had a steady start as their openers put 48 runs for the first wicket. JJ Tasman-Jones scored 35(24) before he was bowled to Bracewell. 60 runs were added to the third wicket as Nick Kelly 35(31) and Neil Broom 25(32) played a vital role in putting a respectable total on the board. Anaru Kitchen remained not-out on 20(12) who gave the finishing touch to Otago's innings as they ended up on 157/5 in 20 overs. Michael Bracewell and Peter Younghusband ended up with two wickets each.
Now, Otago will face Auckland on January 15, 2022, while Wellington will play Central Stags on January 8, 2022.
Brief Scores:
Wellington Firebirds - 119/2 (13.1)
Finn Allen 68(32), Beckham Wheeler-Greenall 1/26
Otago Volts - 157/5(20)
JJ Tasman-Jones 35(24), Peter Younghusband 2/19
Wellington Firebirds won by 8 wickets (DLS Method)