Chohan's birthday five-for leaves Yorkshire feeling 22
Legspinner Jafer Chohan claimed a maiden five-wicket haul to help set Yorkshire up for a crucial win by seven wickets over fellow contenders Durham at Headingley, chasing only 108 to boost their Vitality Blast quarter-final hopes.Chohan, who turned 22 today, finished with a superb 5 for 14 from 3.4 overs as Durham were bowled out for 107 inside 17. He struck three times in the 15th over as Durham crumbled from 96 for 5 to 97 for 9 on a used pitch having elected to bat. They crept to three figures, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a fifth defeat in 11 – this one coming with 3.2 overs remaining as Adam Lyth top-scored with two sixes in 30.Durham, for whom Ben Raine top-scored with 33, started an overcast night fourth in the North Group but slipped out of quarter-final places as the Vikings chased with comfort to end a run of three straight losses and win for the fifth time in 11. A win at Lancashire tomorrow could put them in the top four qualification places.
Chohan, a product of the South Asian Cricket Academy, had missed the last two matches with a broken right thumb. Yorkshire struck three times in the six-over powerplay, beginning a game they couldn’t afford to lose in ideal fashion.Offspinner Dom Bess had Durham captain Alex Lees stumped for 2 in the second over before helping fellow spinner Dan Moriarty oust Ollie Robinson with a catch at mid-on. Seamer Ben Cliff removed opener Graham Clark before Jordan Thompson and Chohan ensured further success.If Dutch duo Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann were still smarting from the Euro 2024 football result from 24 hours earlier, life didn’t get any easier as both were bowled, leaving Durham in disarray at 40 for 5 in the eighth.Their cause was helped by a steadying 56-run stand for the seventh wicket between experienced heads Raine and Australian Ashton Turner. But things weren’t steady for long: Durham lost their sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth wickets for the addition of one run in the space of five balls in the 14th and 15th overs, falling to 97 for 9.Turner was caught and bowled by Bess, who finished with 2 for 26, before Chohan trapped Raine lbw next ball and then had Ben Dwarshuis caught behind to mark a team hat-trick. Later in the 15th, Michael Jones was bowled before Chohan struck again in his next to wrap up the innings as Nathan Sowter handed Donovan Ferreira a second stumping.In his 21st career appearance, Chohan also recorded Yorkshire’s third best figures in their Blast history.Durham started this competition by being bowled out for 75 and 101 in their opening two games before recovering to climb into quarter-final contention. However, they were bowled out for 140 in defeat at Northampton on Sunday before more issues here. With only three games remaining, any more batting issues could be disastrous in terms of their quarter-finals bid.Yorkshire’s task of chasing was a straightforwards one, and it was an added bonus that they were able to significantly improve their net run-rate. Openers Lyth and Dawid Malan cruised to a 64 stand in nine overs before falling.Lyth was caught and bowled by Sowter’s legspin and Malan, for 29, caught at midwicket off de Leede’s seam. Dwarshuis later had James Wharton caught in the deep, but they were nothing more than consolatory strikes.