Lewis McManus and Ashton Agar kept their composure to guide Northamptonshire Steelbacks to a nail-biting five-wicket win over Durham in the Vitality T20 Blast at Wantage Road.
Chasing 141, Northamptonshire needed 10 runs per over in the final five overs after falling behind the required rate. McManus, showcasing his improved batting form, scored 25 off 16 balls. In the last over, with eight runs needed, Agar hit a massive six, bringing his team to the brink of victory in his debut game for the Steelbacks.
Earlier, Ben Sanderson achieved his career-best T20 bowling figures of 4 for 15, including two wickets in three balls, reducing Durham to four for three in the first three overs. The top three Durham batsmen fell without scoring.
Despite regular wickets, Colin Ackermann anchored Durham's innings with 70 off 52 balls, featuring four fours and four sixes, helping his side post a respectable 140 all out. Left-arm spinner Freddie Heldreich contributed with three wickets.
David Willey set the tone with a maiden over before Sanderson dismissed Alex Lees and bowled Ollie Robinson. Graham Clark was caught attempting a big hit off Willey, leaving Durham in dire straits at 4 for 3.
Ben Raine (20) quickly responded with boundaries off Willey and Ravi Bopara. However, he was brilliantly caught by Ricardo Vasconcelos off Bopara. Durham passed 50 in the tenth over as Ackermann and Ashton Turner added 41 runs for the fifth wicket.
Turner (19) hit Ashton Agar for a six but was caught attempting the same off Heldreich. Heldreich then bowled Bas de Leede and had Michael Jones caught by Agar.
Durham's lower order kept pushing, with Ben Dwarshuis hitting sixes off Agar and Heldreich. Ackermann reached his fifty off 41 balls and struck another six off Sanderson before being caught in the final over.
Durham bowled tightly at the start, making it difficult for Northamptonshire to find the boundary. Vasconcelos (41) eventually hit a six and a four off de Leede in the fourth over. He continued scoring freely, but the Steelbacks lost Matthew Breetzke and Willey in quick succession.
Vasconcelos, having surpassed 1,000 T20 runs for Northamptonshire, was trapped lbw by Callum Parkinson. Bopara followed, caught off Sowter, leaving Northamptonshire at 86 for 4 after 14 overs, still needing 55 runs.
McManus calmed the nerves with a six off Sowter and a boundary off Parkinson. He and Zaib added 32 runs in 3.3 overs before Zaib was caught off Raine.
McManus hit a six off the penultimate over, leaving Northamptonshire needing eight from the final over. Parkinson bowled a dot, but Agar hit a six and then a wide levelled the scores. After another dot, Agar ran a single to secure the victory.