T20 Blast, 2018, Day 2: Round-up

The Vitality T20 Blast in England progressed into its second day. Yet again, three games were played on the second day. 18 teams are taking part in this league. Further, these 18 teams divided into two groups, i.e., the North Group and the South Group.

The top-4 teams from both these groups will play in the Quarter Finals towards the end of August. This will be followed by the semi-finals and the finals that will take place on September 15 according to the Indian Standard Time. All the teams in the North Group expect Derby have played at least one game so far. So, he is how the games progressed on the second day of the tournament.

Middlesex vs Surrey – South Group

Middlesex faced Surrey in the first game of the day. After winning the toss, Surrey opted to bat first. However, they failed to put up a formidable total on the board. Rory Burns provided the side with a good start. He scored 36 off 24 balls. But, none of the other batsmen managed to score quickly. If it was not for Rikki Clarke’s 50 off 25 balls, Surrey would have definitely ended up with a much lower total. They put 158 runs on the board with Paul Stirling picking up 3 wickets.

Irish batsman Paul Stirling was a class act with the bat as well. He scored 66 off 36 balls laying the perfect foundation to the chase. But, none of the other batsmen managed to do well. DJ Bravo, who joined the team after forgoing the Global T20 Canada only managed to score 1 runs and wasn’t as effective with the ball either. With the help of 38 runs towards the end from Hilton Cartwright, Middlesex managed to chase the target down comfortably with an over to spare and with 3 wickets remaining.

Brief Scores:

SUR: 158/6 in 20 overs (R Clarke 50, Rory Burns 36, Paul Stirling 3/26)

MDX: 161/7 in 19 overs (Paul Stirling 66, Cartwright 38, Gareth Batty 2/18)

Yorkshire vs Durham – North Group

The second game of the day was a high scoring one. Yorkshire was put into bat first by Durham. They were absolutely brutal with the bat and put up a huge total on the board. A Lyth scored 92 off 54 balls giving the side an ideal start. Harry Brook complemented him with 44 off 31 deliveries while wicket-keeper Tattersall with 53 off just 27 towards the end provided the final flourish as Yorkshire put up 200 runs on the board.

Durham never seemed to be in the chase. They lost their opener, Graham Clark, early. However, Ben Stokes, who has been struggling with his form in the recent times proved to be brilliant on the day. The all-rounder remained not out on 90 which came off 68 balls and was looking in great touch. However, he didn’t have much support from the other end as Durham fell short by 44 runs.

Brief Scores:

YORKS: 200/3 in 20 overs (A Lyth 92*, Tattersall 53*, Imran Tahir 1/33)

DUR: 156/4 in 20 overs (Ben Stokes 90*, Will Smith 22, Jack Brooks 3/21)

Lancashire vs Worcestershire – North Group

After winning the toss, Lancashire opted to bat first and put a huge total of 188 runs on the board. There were good contributions from all the batsmen in the team. Keaton Jennings with 50 off 33 was the top scorer in the innings for the team. Also, handy contributions from Jordan Clarke and Livingstone helped the team put up this good total on the board.

However, the bowlers failed to defend this total. With a complete team effort, Worcestershire managed to chase the target down comfortably. Joe Clark with 42 off 24 balls provided the team with a perfect start. With a 35 off 21 from Callum Ferguson and 37 off 23 from skipper Brett D’Oliveira, they chased the target down with a ball to spare. Jordan Clarke picked two wickets in the innings.

Brief Scores:

LANCS: 188/6 in 20 overs (K Jennings 50, Livingstone 35, George Rhodes 2/27)

WORCS: 190/5 in 19.5 overs (Joe Clark 42, B D’Oliveira 37*, Jordan Clark 2/26)