1:56 AM IST, 9:26 PM Local Time | Somerset keep their T20 Blast knockout hopes alive with a win over Derbyshire! Derbyshire fought hard in the chase but ultimately lost by 27 runs to a well-drilled Somerset side.
Somerset won the toss and elected to bat first! Their decision was vindicated as Will Smeed led the charge with 89 runs off 51 balls, and with the help of twin 39s from Thomas Rew and skipper Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Somerset were able to establish a big total of 214/6 at the end of their 20 overs.
For Derbyshire, Martin Andersson was their best bowler with the figures of 3/33 from 4 overs. Suifyan Muqeem picked up 2 wickets and Nick Potts claimed a solitary wicket.
Come the chase, Derbyshire's Aneurin Donald started off with a bang, smashing the Somerset bowlers to all parts in a quick-fire knock of 65 runs off 27 balls to put his team ahead of the asking rate.
However, the Somerset bowlers were in no mood to give up, as they kept picking up wickets at regular intervals to stifle the scoring rate throughout the innings. Overton ensured he dismissed Donald before the damage became too big. Ball dismissed Andersson for a solitary run earlier in the powerplay.
Apart from Donald, Wayne Madsen was the only hope for Derbyshire with a gritty knock of 43 runs from 31 balls, but Sams produced a perfect yorker to end his knock. There was some support from Came (28) and Whiteley (29)* but the strike-rate was never good enough to achieve the target.
In the end, Somerset's disciplined bowling and good fielding helped them restrict Derbyshire to 187/7 at the end of the match to claim the win. Daniel Sams was the pick of the bowlers with 3/29 from 4 overs. Jake Ball picked up 2/34, and Meredith and Overton picked up a solitary wicket each to round off a good bowling effort for Somerset.