Derbyshire 178 for 6 (Patel 64, Madsen 43) beat Leicestershire 176 for 6 (Handscomb 75*, Patel 2-21) by four wickets
Derbyshire Falcons opened their Vitality Blast account for the season with a tense four-wicket victory over Leicestershire Foxes at Edgbaston.
Foxes chose to bat but stuttered to 97 for 6 as Zak Chappell, Pat Brown and Samit Patel took two wickets apiece before an unbroken stand of 79 in 45 balls by Peter Handscomb, who made 75 off 51, and Rehan Ahmed (36 off 22) lifted them to 176 for 6.
Falcons replied with 178 for 6 in 19.1 overs thanks principally to a high-class partnership of 102 in 58 balls from 40-year-old Wayne Madsen and 39-year-old Patel. Patel smashed 64 from 32 in a scintillating knock while Madsen made a composed 43 off 35.
Their quality left Falcons needing 18 from the last 12 balls and Brooke Guest lifted the first and sixth of those balls over the rope to bring Foxes down to earth after their opening-game victory over Yorkshire Vikings last night.
The Leicestershire innings received an early jolt when Sol Budinger received a reminder of what a great leveller cricket can be. The opener slapped Chappell to backward point to follow Friday's dazzling half-century with a golden duck.
Rishi Patel feathered Brown to wicketkeeper Brooke Guest and Louis Kimber's vigorous start ended when he skied Chappell to mid-off where Madsen judged a difficult catch perfectly.
Handscomb continued to watch partners come and go. Wiaan Mulder lifted Brown to deep cover and Ben Cox and Ben Mike holed out to Patel to give the spinner his 343rd and 344th T20 wickets.
That left Foxes on an uneasy 97 for 6 in the 13th over but Handscomb played a true captain's innings. He worked the ball around adroitly in an accomplished half-century - surprisingly only his eighth time past 50 in 124 T20s - and Rehan offered valuable support, hitting three sixes, to lift the total to somewhere around par.
Falcons paid a high price for over-aggression in the opening overs. Luis Reece charged and missed at Kimber. David Lloyd, having hit his first ball for six, was bowled by his sixth, a gorgeous, swinging yorker from Mike. Harry Came, having socked Ian Holland over mid-off for four, needlessly tried the same next ball and was caught at mid-off.
At 31 for 3, Falcons' foundations were rocky but Madsen and Patel counterattacked with selectivity and skill. Former England allrounder Patel showed his immense powers have not dimmed in a glorious knock which included four fours and five sixes before he was caught by Mike right on the square leg rope off Rehan.
Madsen then lifted Mike to mid-off at which point Falcons needed 28 from 21 balls. Ross Whiteley skied Scott Currie to long-on but Guest smote Mike for mighty sixes over long-off and straight in the penultimate over to leave just two required from the last.
