T20 Blast 2018, Day 22: Round-up

The twenty-second day of action in the Vitality T20 Blast witnessed five highly entertaining games. While three were North group games, the rest two were South group games. The bowlers excelled on the day and the highlight was the hat-trick of Jofra Archer which helped Sussex clinch the thriller.

Durham went past Lancashire in the North group to grab the number one position. Northamptonshire, who didn’t win a single game thus far is last in this group. Kent continued to impress with their performance and have taken over the top position in the South group from Gloucestershire. Here is how things progressed on this day:

Middlesex vs Sussex – South Group

Sussex, after opting to bat first, were bundled out for 168 runs in 19.4 overs. Their opener Philip Salt scored 50 off just 20 balls. Also, Bermuda’s Delray Rawlins scored 49 runs off 35 balls but none of the other batsmen contributed. Furthermore, Tom Barber picked 4 wickets in the innings. It seemed as if it was going to be an easy chase for Middlesex.

They were on course to win the encounter with Eoin Morgan doing so well in the middle. He was on 89 as Middlesex needed 16 runs to win the game in the last over. Jofra Archer was handed the responsibility of doing the job and he responded beautifully.

The fast bowler conceded two runs off the first two balls, picked the wicket of dangerous Eoin Morgan on the third ball and went on to pick another two wickets in the next two balls to make it a sensational hat-trick. He only conceded 3 runs in the final over and sealed a memorable victory for his side.

Brief Scores:

Sussex: 168/10 in 19.4 overs (Philip Salt 50, Rawlins 49, Tom Barber 4/28)

Middlesex: 156/7 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 90, Gubbins 25, Jofra Archer 3/25)

Result: Sussex won by 12 runs.

Nottinghamshire vs Derbyshire – North Group

This game was closely fought. Nottinghamshire won the toss and opted to bat first in their home ground. Their opener Tom Moores, who is in some good form at the moment was impressive yet again scoring 48 runs off 34 balls. With the help of a 25-ball 39 from skipper Dan Christian and a 28 from Billy Root, they managed to post 166 runs in 20 overs. Further, Lockie Ferguson picked two wickets in the innings.

Derbyshire fell marginally short chasing the target down. Although their openers failed, Wahab Riaz, who is batting at No 3 for the team was excellent in the chase. He did more than what was expected of him by scoring 53 off 31 balls.

Matthew Critchley, Derbyshire’s biggest strength down the order, failed to deliver in the chase. He only scored run-a-ball 27 as the visitors fell short of the target by just 9 runs. Ish Sodhi was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as he returned with the figures of 4/17.

Brief Scores:

Nottinghamshire: 166/5 in 20 overs (Tom Moores 48, Dan Christian 39*, L Ferguson 2/15)

Derbyshire: 157/8 in 20 overs (Wahab Riaz 53, M Critchley 27, Ish Sodhi 4/17)

Result: Nottinghamshire won by 9 runs.

Kent vs Essex – South Group

Kent, who are performing brilliantly this season, opted to bat first after winning the toss. Although the top three batsmen failed to convert the good starts they got, skipper Sam Billings was brilliant. He along with Marcus Stoinis, who joined the team recently, built a very good partnership. While Billings was unbeaten on 56, Stoinis was run out on 47. They scored 191 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs.

However, Essex never got going in the chase. Their opener Varun Chopra who was in sublime form suddenly seems to have lost his touch. Although Paul Walter, Ryan ten Doeschate and Ravi Bopara got off to some great starts, they succumbed to pressure as the required run rate was mounting. Thence, Essex fell short of the target by 28 runs. Adam Milne picked 4 wickets in the innings thereby keeping the opposition batsmen at bay right through the chase.

Brief Scores:

Kent: 191/4 in 20 overs (Sam Billings 56*, Marcus Stoinis 47, Adam Zampa 2/31)

Essex: 163/10 in 20 overs (Ravi Bopara 42, Paul Walter 40, Adam Milne 4/15)

Result: Kent won by 28 runs.

Here is how things progressed in the other games:

Durham vs Northamptonshire – North Group

Durham: 170/4 in 20 overs (P Collingwood 50*, L Trevaskis 26, N Buck 1/21)

Northamptonshire: 95/10 in 17 overs (Prasanna 22, S Crook 21, J Weighell 2/7)

Result: Durham won by 75 runs.

Leicestershire vs Warwickshire – North Group

Leicestershire: 143/10 in 19.3 overs (N Dexter 56, M Nabi 19, Olly Stone 3/22)

Warwickshire: 146/2 in 14.2 overs (Adam Hose 66*, Ian Bell 34, M Nabi 1/18)

Result: Warwickshire won by 8 wickets.

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