Gloucestershire 182 for 8 (Dhariwal 70) beat Worcestershire 181 for 5 (Kashif 58*, Roderick 44, Hayes 2-14) by two wickets

A late innings blitz from Kashif Ali (58* off 24) propelled the Rapids up to a competitive score at the halfway stage, setting Gloucestershire 182 to win.

Reduced to 78 for 4 at the halfway stage, it was the 21-year-old who stole the show with an incredible display of ball striking on his way to 70 from just 21 balls, swinging the game on it’s head.

A grandstand finish ensued, but it was Graeme van Burren who hit the winning runs in the penultimate over as Gloucestershire edged a thriller and handed Worcestershire a sizeable blow in their pursuit of a quarter-final place.

Gloucestershire made the brighter start, with Liam Scott removing debutant Dan Lategan in the second over of the contest courtesy of a smart Matt Taylor catch at short fine-leg.

James Hayes doubled the visitors delight shortly after when he saw the back of Mohammed Isaac for 15, but a costly drop by Scott at mid-on to stand-in skipper Gareth Roderick saw the hosts end the powerplay 40 for 2.

Worcestershire’s No. 3 made the most of his second life against his former employers, playing with a dismissive tone as he led the Rapids’ revival.

Brett D’Oliveira loosened his arms from the outset, launching a six and two fours from a van Buuren over to see his side 72 for 2 at the halfway stage.

In an attritional tussle, it was the wicket of set batter Roderick for a well-made 44 from 36 balls that handed the visitors a route back into the contest when Matt Taylor beat his defences.

D’Arcy Short and captain Jack Taylor restricted their opponents, before the 2024 champions tightened their grip on the contest when an excellent diving catch by Dhariwal at deep extra cover ended D’Oliveria’s cameo for 31 to leave Worcestershire 97 for 4.

Henry Cullen blitzed 27, but his wicket teed up an extraordinary final two overs. Kashif took take centre stage, producing a brutal assault on the Gloucestershire bowlers to slam 47 runs off the last two overs, blazing a destructive 21-ball half-century in a ruthless display of power.

Blitzing two fours and six sixes, Kashif took Matt Taylor for 25 in the penultimate over, and Marchant de Lange for 22 in the 20th to rocket the Rapids to an above par 181 for 5 at the halfway stage.

In identical fashion to the first innings, it was the visitors who got out of the blocks the quicker, with Short striking at 200 for his 26. However, the home side hit back, with both Gloucestershire openers departing in quick succession as the match once again swayed in favour of the Rapids.

Ben Allison was the man who stopped the siege, when Lategan held onto a steepling catch at deep midwicket, before repeating his safe fielding to claim the vital wicket of the in-form Dawid Malan for 14.

Twenty-four balls passed without a boundary being scored, when pressure eventually told on the visitors, losing Miles Hammond and Scott in successive overs as Gloucestershire slipped to 78 for 4, 11 overs in.

That was the cue for Dhariwal to take matters into his own hands, slamming a record-equalling fifty with seven sixes to single-handedly drag his side back into the driving seat.

Jack Taylor came and went, but the crucial moment came when Dhariwal mistimed his first strike of the evening, holing out to Lategan and bringing an end to his jaw-dropping innings.

The Rapids refused to lie down, and when Mir had James Bracey caught close in, it was anyone’s to win in the 17th over. Singh’s 18th over cost just four runs, but needing just 15 to win, Graeme van Burren held his nerve to see his side home with an over to spare.