Hales' stunning 59 off 29 balls included four sixes and six fours and gave the Rockets the platform to post a challenging 4-181, backed up by leading run-scorer Dawid Malan's 38 off 29 and consolidated by skipper Lewis Gregory combining with Colin Munro to add 41 off the last 19 deliveries.

Despite Jordan Cox countering with an unbeaten 61 off 33, the Invincibles could not recover from 3-42 in 35 balls with South African left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi finding a notable degree of turn in taking 2-21.

After the Rockets were put in, Malan had the six counter ticking from ball four but spent the next 40 largely admiring his teammate as Hales delivered an extraordinary display of his clean hitting skills.

Hales, who survived an lbw review first ball, took a particular liking to Sam Curran, plundering three maximums off the left-armer, whom he hammered 20 runs off in one set of five. He had gone past 10,000 career short-format runs in the previous set and looked unstoppable.

His fourth six - off Sydney Thunder teammate Mohammad Hasnain - sailed over the roof of the Fox Road stand and into the Nottingham night as his fifty came up off just 22 balls.

But after he had gone for 59, picking out the fielder on the midwicket boundary as Hasnain got his revenge, the Rockets lost some momentum and it needed Gregory and Munro's enterprise at the death to set the Invincibles a testing chase.

Will Jacks was fresh from his brilliant unbeaten 108 last time out but Sam Cook had his number on this occasion, bowling him with a perfect yorker.

Jason Roy at least avoided another duck but on 20 from 17 ran into a ripper from Shamsi that knocked back his leg stump. Shamsi had Sam Billings leg-before with one that fizzed through three balls later.

Curran built himself a start but perished for 27. And with 66 needed from 20 balls despite Sunil Narine launching a free-hit over the rope at wide long-on, the winning line looked too far away for the Invincibles, despite Cox hitting three sixes.

Australian Associated Press