Stats: Eoin Morgan powers Middlesex to a record chase in T20 Blast

The Taunton crowd witnessed a run-fest on Friday during the T20 Blast match between the hosts Somerset and Middlesex. The game was no less than a pre-quarterfinal as the winner of the match would qualify for the Quarters. After electing to bat first, Somerset posted a huge score of 226/5 as their skipper Tom Abell scored an unbeaten 47-ball 101. The tournament’s leading run-getter, Babar Azam bagged a golden duck but the 2nd highest scorer, Tom Banton, scored 62 from only 39 balls.

The star-studded Middlesex did fancy their chances in the chase given the reputation of the game. Skipper Dawid Malan gave them a perfect start scoring 41 in only 14 balls while Paul Stirling got 25 from 10 as the duo added 67 from the first wicket in only 3.5 overs. AB de Villiers too made 16-ball 32 coming to bat at No.3 as the visitors were well ahead of the required run-rate.

Mohammad Hafeez got runout in a follow-through while Tom Lammonby claimed ABD’s wicket thanks to a sensational catch at the boundary by Max Waller. Eoin Morgan showed first signs of urgency in the 13th over when he sent three consecutive deliveries of Lammonby over the fence and followed it with a four. As many as 24 runs came in that over and the required rate dropped under nine all of a sudden.

The equation came down to 42 from last five overs but Middlesex needed only two. Morgan yielded 24 runs in the 17th over bowled by Roelof van der Merwe. The England skipper finished on an unbeaten 29-ball 83 hitting five fours and eight maximums. Thus, they recorded the highest successful chase in the history of the T20 Blast. The previous highest chase was of 226 by Sussex during the 2014 edition match against Essex.

In fact, Middlesex’s 227-run chase is the 4th highest successful run-chase in the history of the Twenty20 cricket and the highest in England. This chase is also the highest in any domestic T20 as the top three Twenty20 chases were recorded during the T20I matches. The biggest chase is 244 by Australia against New Zealand during the Trans-Tasman T20I series in 2018.

The Aussies needed only 18.5 overs to chase that target against the Blackcaps. Middlesex had a run rate of 13.35 during their chase which is the 2nd highest for any side who has batted 100+ balls in a Twenty20 inning. Afghanistan posted the highest T20 total of 278/3 at a run rate of 13.9 during the T20I game against Ireland this year.

Highest successful run-chases in Twenty20 cricket:

(Stats as on August 30, 2019)