T20 Blast 2018, Day 23: Round-up

The 23rd day of the Vitality T20 Blast was an action-filled one. Eight games were played on this day and it had everything a true cricket fan could have wished for. There were some mammoth totals chased down easily, there were some nail-biting finishes, quite a few batsmen scored centuries and there were also some magnificent bowling spells.

Johann Myburgh, Aaron Finch, Paul Stirling scored centuries on this day while many others were quite close to getting one. Mohammad Nabi was brilliant in the game against Lancashire where he scored 86 from just 32 balls. It is Worcestershire that leads in points table in the North group while Kent continues to stay at the top in the South group. Here is how things progressed on the 23rd day:

Glamorgan vs Gloucestershire – South Group

Gloucestershire opted to bowl first in this encounter. This was a high-scoring and a nail-biting game and left the fans on the edge of their seats. Batting first, Glamorgan made a merry out of a brilliant inning from Craig Meschede. He was unbeaten on 77 off 47 balls. With the help of some other quickfire knocks, Glamorgan got to a massive total of 201 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.

Gloucestershire got so close but failed to cross the line. Although they were down and out at 85/4 in the 12th over, Ryan Higgins and Jack Taylor played some brilliant knocks. While Higgins scored 37 off 29 balls, Taylor took just 21 balls to get to 52. The team needed 16 runs in the last over.

But, van der Gugten held on to his nerves to provide his team with a 2-run victory. Gugten picked up a wicket off the first ball but then Andrew Tye hit a couple of sixes to make things interesting. Gloucestershire needed 3 runs off the last ball but Tye was dismissed to break the heart of their fans.

Brief Scores:

Glamorgan: 201/6 in 20 overs (Meschede 77*, A Donald 31, Howell 3/39)

Gloucestershire: 199/9 in 20 overs (J Taylor 52, Ryan Higgins 37, M Hogan 3/31)

Result: Glamorgan won by 2 runs

Surrey vs Middlesex – South Group

After having opted to bat first, Middlesex posted a massive total on the board. Paul Stirling was the star of the innings for them as he played a sensational knock of 109 runs off just 58 balls. With the help of a 19-ball 37 from James Fuller and a 27-ball 31 from Eskinazi, they posted a massive 221 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Eoin Morgan who was brilliant in the last game was run out without facing a delivery.

It was definitely going to be a tough chase. However, Aaron Finch made it seem as if it was nothing. He took just 45 balls to get to his century. His partner Jason Roy was also as brutal as ever. He scored 84 off 37 balls. Finch was unbeaten on 117 from 52 balls as Surrey chased the target down with four overs to spare. All the Middlesex bowlers conceded runs at an economy rate which was above 10.

Brief Scores:

Middlesex: 221/5 in 20 overs (Paul Stirling 109, James Fuller 37*, R Clarke 2/43)

Surrey: 222/1 in 16 overs (Aaron Finch 117*, Jason Roy 84, James Fuller 1/56)

Result: Surrey won by 9 wickets

Here is how things proceeded in the other games:

Somerset vs Essex – South Group

Essex: 135/9 in 20 overs (V Chopra 43, Michael Pepper 27, J Overton 3/23)

Somerset: 136/0 in 11.2 overs (Johann Myburgh 103*, Tom Banton 29*, James Porter 0/17)

Result: Somerset won by 10 wickets

Worcestershire vs Durham – North Group

Durham: 194/7 in 20 overs (Tom Latham 78, R Pringle 35, Wayne Parnell 2/22)

Worcestershire: 195/7 in 19.4 overs (Ross Whiteley 60, Moeen Ali 42, Barry McCarthy 4/31)

Result: Worcestershire won by 3 wickets

Yorkshire vs Northamptonshire – North Group

Northamptonshire: 129/7 in 20 overs (C Thurston 41, Ben Duckett 21, S Patterson 2/26)

Yorkshire: 132/4 in 18.4 overs (Kane Williamson 52*, Tom Kohler-Cadmore 27, R Gleeson 2/21)

Result: Yorkshire won by 6 wickets

Lancashire vs Leicestershire – North Group

Lancashire: 190/5 in 20 overs (Alex Davies 90*, K Brown 29, Zak Chappell 2/25)

Leicestershire: 194/5 in 18.4 overs (M Nabi 86*, Ackermann 45, M Parkinson 2/45)

Result: Leicestershire won by 5 wickets

Derbyshire vs Warwickshire – North Group

Derbyshire: 143/9 in 20 overs (MacLeod 39, Wilson 30*, Elliot 3/16)

Warwickshire: 127/9 in 20 overs (Ian Bell 65, Chris Woakes 21, Wahab Riaz 3/27)

Result: Derbyshire won by 16 runs

Hampshire vs Kent – South Group

Kent: 139/7 in 20 overs (Heino Kuhn 29, M Stoinis 26, Liam Dawson 2/22)

Hampshire: 88/10 in 16.1 overs (Liam Dawson 29, Kyle Abbott 19, M Stoinis 4/17)

Result: Kent won by 51 runs

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