SOM vs SUR 74th Match - South Group Prediction

SOM vs SUR Team Previews

Somerset

In their last game in the competition, Somerset scored a decisive win against Gloucestershire to record a win by a huge margin of 80 runs. Batting first, the Somerset innings was propelled by Will Smeed who smashed 94 runs from just 35 balls. This inning was to be the difference between the two sides as Somerset put once across their West Country rivals in the Seat Unique Stadium. Will Smeed was involved in a terrific opening wicket stand with Tom Banton hitting 8 sixes and 8 fours in his stay at the wicket.

This score of 231 runs for the loss of 4 wickets is by far the best total achieved by Somerset against Gloucestershire. It is also the 3rd highest score in Bristol in the T20 format. While chasing this massive total, the Gloucestershire team missed many key players due to injuries. They were bowled out for 151 runs in 19 overs. Miles Hammond was the top scorer for them with 61 runs. Josh Davey and Roelof van der Merwe picked up 3 wickets each and derailed the Gloucestershire reply. The Gloucestershire tail was polished off by the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Bashir also picked up 3 wickets as Gloucestershire lost their last 9 wickets for 52 runs. This was 7th win for Somerset in the South Group games this year. The win means they can keep their advantage over their nearest rivals Hampshire and Surrey. This magical inning was the second one in a row for Smeed. He had also scored a 52 against Hampshire earlier in Southampton. He attacked the spinners from Gloucestershire more readily. Only the Gloucestershire veteran seamer David Payne succeeded in restoring some sanity by bowling a couple of tight overs with the new ball.

Surrey

The Surrey Lions are also going into this game on the back of a massive win against Sussex. Batting first, Surrey hammered 258 runs from their quota of 20 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Craig Evans was at his best smashing 93 runs. He was well-aided by Sam Curran who scored 68 runs. After setting a mammoth total on the board, Surrey managed to bundle out the Sussex team for 134 runs to record a win by a whopping margin of 124 runs. Sunil Narine was the pick of the bowlers for Surrey getting 3 wickets for 12 runs.

This was the highest score ever recorded by Surrey in Vitality Blast. It was a 4th highest score by any team in the Blast. The Sussex bowlers were not given any opportunities to make a comeback in the game. Surrey batters continued where they left off against another team in the last game. They had also piled up a huge total against Glamorgan hitting 236 runs. Similar to that game, it was again Laurie Evans and Sam Curran who caused the most damage. They were involved in a big second wicket stand of 157 runs.

Although Sussex got off to an encouraging start when Will Jacks was bowled by Nathan McAndrew with the last ball of the first over. But that was to be the only respite for the team. Evans who had already hit a hundred in the last game, was rampant again. The Surrey total had reached 107 for 1 by the time the first ten overs were completed. Evans reached his fifty in 28 balls. Evans appeared to be all set for his second hundred in a row. But he was picked up at mid-on by James Coles on Crocombe’s bowling. But the damage was done as far as Sussex was concerned.