Leicestershire prevailed over Durham in the 40th match of the Vitality Blast, a cricket county tournament which is underway in England and Wales. South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder bowled an excellent spell of 2 for 19 for the Fozex while defending 140 runs at the Seat Unique Riverside.

Rishi Patel’s opening 48 off 44 balls helped the Foxes post 140 runs. Durham was hoping to chase down the target in the sluggish wicket. However, Mulder’s early two wickets haul pushed Durham at19 for 3 and it could never recover from that. They fell 10 runs short while chasing 17 off the last over.

It was Josh Hull’s final over that sealed Leicestershire’s third win and consigned Durham to a third defeat.

The Over That Mattered To Win Vitality Blast Match

The penultimate over bowled by Scott Currie also turned out to be a game changer. Durham needed 20 runs from 12 balls to win. In the 19th over, Scott Currie conceded only three runs and took a wicket. This meant Durham needed 17 of the last over. Leicestershire defended those runs.

If penultimate overs are the hardest to bowl, no one told Scott Currie

He was outstanding in the 19th to help @leicsccc to a win at Durham 😎 pic.twitter.com/8KNwQ7YAw1

— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 12, 2024

Durham looked in control but pressure was not off especially when Turner was run out at 104 for 4 in the 16th. 

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Despite Graham Clark reaching his fifty, he was starved of boundary towards the end, denting the chances of Durham to win the match.

Third placed Leicestershire got the better of eighth place Durham in the thriller. While Leicestershire has won three of their five played matches, Durham has lost three of the five played matches.

Vitality Blast, also known as T20 Blast, is having its 22nd edition. It is a professional T20 league played in England and Wales. The tournament commenced on 30 May and will go on till 14 September 2024, according to the schedule.The tournament is run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

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There are seven teams in the tournament with a North and South split. Each team will play 14 group-stages matches, seven home and away each.

Somerset are the defending champions of the T20 blast.