It was a one-sided contest in match seven of the Super Smash 2021-22 season as Northern Knights got the better of Auckland as the team from Hamilton clinched the issue by four wickets. Despite a helpful knock of 47 from New Zealand veteran batter Martin Guptill, it was Joe Carter and Colin de Grandhomme who took the Knights home to register their first victory of the season with 14 balls to spare.
The match played at Seddon Park in Hamilton was attended by more than 10,000 fans as Knights captain Jeet Raval won the toss and elected to bowl first. George Worker and Guptill gave the away side a great start as they put up an opening stand of 81 runs in just 45 balls before Jow Walker dismissed Worker for 36.
The dismissal paved the way for Walker as he went on to grab three more wickets to end up with figures of 4/31. On the other end, his partner in crime, Scott Kuggeleijn also joined the party with four wickets of his own. The Auckland side had a horrendous collapse as they lost momentum losing all their 10 wickets for just 84 runs as they ended with a total of 165/10 in 19.5 overs.
It was a slow start for the Knights as they played carefully in the powerplays but were reduced to a vulnerable situation of 26/3 in 2.5 overs. Captain Raval was dismissed for a golden duck as Lockie Ferguson picked two wickets in the same over. This proved to be the final piece of joy for Auckland as Knights then pick up with Carter’s unbeaten 75 off 53 and Grandhomme’s 53 off 29 which saw the pair put up a fourth-wicket stand of 100 runs.
After Grandhomme’s departure, it was a walk in the park for the Knights as the damage was already done. Anurag Verma and Carter saw the Knights home with 14 balls to spare. The two teams will meet again in a fortnight in the return leg at Eden Park on Monday (December 20). This was Auckland’s first match of the tournament as they remain winless while Knights occupy the second spot in the points table with six points and seat behind Central Districts (8 Points).
