[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-buttler-50-ball-masterclass-super-giants-demolish-phoenix":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-buttler-50-ball-masterclass-super-giants-demolish-phoenix":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":95,"_path":96},"Buttler's 50-Ball 90 Flattens Phoenix as Super Giants Win by 87","buttler-50-ball-masterclass-super-giants-demolish-phoenix","long-reads","Feature","Sarah Martinez","Jos Buttler hammered 90 from 50 deliveries at Old Trafford as Manchester Super Giants crushed Birmingham Phoenix in the men's Hundred.","2026-07-26 17:48:28","1 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fbuttler-50-ball-masterclass-super-giants-demolish-phoenix.webp",[93,94],"The Hundred","Cricket","## Buttler's 90 off 50 dismantled Birmingham at Old Trafford\n\nJos Buttler carved out **90 runs from just 50 balls** against Birmingham Phoenix in the men's Hundred, an innings that decided the contest before the chase began. Manchester Super Giants posted a total Birmingham never threatened, winning by **87 runs**.\n\nThe Hundred compresses white-ball cricket into **100 balls per side**, meaning a single batter in full flow can warp a game beyond recognition. Buttler's strike rate of **180** did exactly that. His template at Old Trafford, his home ground in domestic cricket, was familiar: surgical placement early, then acceleration into the arc over midwicket and down the ground as bowlers lost their lengths chasing variation. The short boundaries on one side of the ground suited his strength square of the wicket, and he has batted on that surface hundreds of times across formats. He controlled the innings from start to finish, rarely offering a chance even as Birmingham cycled through bowling changes.\n\n## Birmingham's top order folded, the chase dead within 30 balls\n\nBirmingham needed sustained aggression from ball one. When the top order didn't fire, the required rate became unmanageable within the first 30 deliveries. A chase that falls **87 runs short** in a 100-ball game points to systemic failure across the batting order. The middle order was asked to do something close to impossible, and the pressure told.\n\nThe margin inflates Manchester Super Giants' net run rate, the kind of cushion that matters when teams are separated by decimal points in a short-format tournament. For Buttler, the innings adds to a body of work in the competition built on match-shaping contributions rather than cameos.","\u002Farticles\u002Fbuttler-50-ball-masterclass-super-giants-demolish-phoenix",[98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,85,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","tennis",[108,121,133],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":112,"author":113,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":116,"readTime":117,"image":118,"imageAlt":111,"tags":119,"excerpt":120},"england-south-africa-ellis-park-tactical-analysis","\u002Farticles\u002Fengland-south-africa-ellis-park-tactical-analysis","Borthwick's Defining Test: Can England Break 54 Years of Ellis Park Pain?","category","Elena Rossi","SportPulse Contributor","ER","2026-07-02 18:46:54","7 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F83bc\u002Flive\u002F9fa051d0-763e-11f1-978e-75442e1b1903.jpg","International Rugby, Six Nations, Rugby World Cup, Autumn Internationals","England travel to Johannesburg seeking a first Ellis Park victory in 54 years against the Springboks dynasty.",{"id":122,"stem":122,"path":123,"title":124,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":112,"author":125,"authorRole":126,"authorInitials":127,"date":128,"readTime":129,"image":130,"imageAlt":124,"tags":131,"excerpt":132},"verma-fifty-keeps-india-semi-final-alive","\u002Farticles\u002Fverma-fifty-keeps-india-semi-final-alive","Verma's Fifty Ignites India: A Tactical Dissection","James Chen","Senior Football Analyst","JC","2026-06-25 17:34:05","4 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F7166\u002Flive\u002Fb0d12a60-70b7-11f1-8e1d-bbbb1017d210.jpg","Women's Cricket, T20 World Cup, India, Bangladesh","Shafali Verma's 53 ensures India's semi-final hopes hinge on a must-win clash against Australia.",{"id":134,"stem":134,"path":135,"title":136,"category":85,"badge":15,"badgeType":112,"author":87,"authorRole":137,"authorInitials":138,"date":139,"readTime":140,"image":141,"imageAlt":136,"tags":142,"excerpt":143},"prince-william-football-royal-superfan","\u002Farticles\u002Fprince-william-football-royal-superfan","The Prince in the Stands: Why William's Football Obsession Matters","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-11 02:36:28","6 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fprince-william-football-royal-superfan.webp","Premier League, FA Cup, Aston Villa, England","A future king choosing the terraces over the royal box reveals something profound about football's grip on Britain."]