Yorkshire fell to 43 for 3 in the fifth over of their chase and was unable to recover as Liam Livingstone smashed 60 off 39 balls in Lightning’s 216 for 6 before Root top-edged a pull at Anderson to short fine leg.
With a comprehensive 22-run Roses victory against Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford, Lancashire maintained their hopes of qualifying for the Vitality Blast quarterfinals. James Anderson dismissed former England teammate Joe Root for four.
The race now moves to Sunday’s final day after Lancashire’s fifth victory in 11 games, this time defending a 217 target. Yorkshire, in second place, will have to wait to secure their advancement because they were only able to post 194 for 8. Mitch Stanley of the England Lions made an impression with a career-best 4 for 30.
Lancashire needs to defeat Durham here and hope, while Yorkshire might qualify even if they lose to North Group champions Nottinghamshire at Headingley on Sunday.
Ben McDermott and Livingstone, who struck his fourth fifty of the campaign, helped Lancashire reach 70 for 1 after six overs despite Dan Moriarty giving up just one and having Keaton Jennings caught at point in the second over.
In the ninth over, Livingstone struck a fifty off 28 balls after McDermott was caught at deep square-leg off Jafer Chohan for 46, 89 for 2.
After hitting Chohan for consecutive sixes, Matty Hurst and Livingstone were both dismissed by Dutch seamer Logan van Beek in the 13th, leaving Lancashire at 129 for 4. Jonny Bairstow skilfully caught Livingstone off guard when attempting an uppercut.
Due to a hand injury sustained by Faheem Ashraf, Overseas van Beek was substituted for his first game of the season.
Lancashire finished well thanks to Shadab Khan’s 38 off 20 balls. He struck Hasan Ali, a fellow Pakistani, with two leg-side sixes.
Although Bairstow did not start the White Rose’s batting, Will Luxton, his replacement, smashed Anderson for six over long-on, with 13 coming from the first over of the chase. He didn’t survive long, though, as he bowled attacking Stanley in the second.
Before Anderson got Root, Stanley also had Adam Lyth caught behind with a short ball. Before Moeen Ali was caught one-handed above his head at midwicket by Jennings off Shadab’s legspin, Stanley had Bairstow caught at cover following a mistake.
Yorkshire were virtually eliminated at 47 for 5 after 6.1 overs as the Lightning exacted revenge for their earlier-season loss at Headingley.
Yorkshire’s situation was resolved by Matthew Revis and van Beek, who crucially preserved their net run-rate, which may be relevant on Sunday. Before slicing a catch off Jack Blatherwick to third, where a diving Joe Moores held on admirably, Van Beek played wonderfully for forty to add to his earlier three wickets.
While AJ Tye added 29 not out off 14 and smacked three sixes off one Blatherwick over, Revis overtook him for 52 off 38. However, they were attempts at consolation. Stanley struck once more to trap Hasan in the deep while defending 37 off the final over.
