Published: Jul 20, 2019, 05:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 20, 2019, 05:34 PM (IST)
Cameron Delport‘s blistering 49-ball 129 helped Essex to their first win of the T20 Blast 2019 as they beat Surrey by 52 runs in a rain-curtailed match on Saturday.
Essex scored 226/4 in reply to which Surrey managed 174/7 in a contest reduced to 15 overs per side.
Sam Curran struck in the second over after Sussex opted to field at County Ground, Chelmsford. Opener Varun Chopra managed seven before being caught by Aaron Finch.
However, Delport was in some mood as he began smashing boundaries at will. It was his incredible solo effort that kept Essex accelerating at breath-taking pace despite his partners departing after registering single-digit totals. Tom Westley (9) and Ryan ten Doeschate (6) were mere spectator to Delport show.
The support finally came from Daniel Lawrence who struck a quckfire half-century. Delport belted seven fours and 14 sixes while Lawrence scored two fours and six sixes in his 22-ball 57.
Sussex were off to a bright start, racing to 31 runs off their first eight ball faced. And then they lost four wickets for the addition of just one run. Matthew Quinn (3/34) was the wrecker-in-chief taking three wickets in his very first over.
32/4 became 86/6 when Finch walked back after hitting 40 off 19. Rory Burns (47*) and Jordan Clark (45) fought back but it wasn’t enough.
Brief Scores: Essex 226/4 (Cameron Delport 129, Daniel Lawrence 57*; Gareth Batty 2/38) beat Sussex 174/7 (Rory Burns 47, Jordan Clark 45; Matthew Quinn 3/34) by 52 runs
