Somerset vs Nottinghamshire, Vitality T20 Blast Prediction: Who will win today's Quarter-Final 3?
As the league stage of the 2023 T20 Vitality Blast edition came to a close, all eyes are now set on the 3rd Quarter Final match between Somerset and Nottinghamshire. The County Ground in Taunton will host this blockbuster match on July 7 starting at 11 PM IST.
Somerset ended their league stage on a high by emerging at the top of the South Group Points table with 12 impressive wins. In 14 matches, they have only been defeated twice. Nottinghamshire on the other hand, finished fourth in the North Group Points table eight wins to their name. They have so far lost six matches in 14 games played in the tournament.
Somerset powered their way through to the quarter-final stage of the tournament by annihilating Kent, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, and Essex. Right from start to end, their journey in this year’s T20 Blast competition has been a memorable one. They commenced their campaign with a bang with 5 massive wins on the trot.
They did slip marginally against Surrey and Hampshire during the middle phase of the tournament. However, they recovered nicely and turned things around by winning their remaining fixtures in the league stage of the tournament.
Will Smeed, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, and Tom Banton have been doing the bulk of the scoring averaging 34.64, 41.73, and 34.67 respectively. The trio is batting at a scintillating strike rate hovering in the high 150s.
Ben Green, Matt Henry, and Josh Davey have done some lethal damage with the ball this season sharing 63 wickets between them. They have managed to register some impressive bowling figures and are certainly a threat to contend with.
Nottinghamshire’s road to the quarter-finals has more or less been smooth apart from a few hiccups. They were in a spot of bother at the start of the tournament where they lost three of their first five matches to Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Worcestershire. Post that, they made a steady recovery as a unit and managed to win their next four games by a comprehensive margin.
But they could not sustain their winning momentum and faltered every so slightly in the backend of the league stage. Despite crashing out to Bears and Worcestershire, they bounced back in fine style by knocking Leicestershire out of the playoff race. Jake Ball held his nerve and bowled a nerve-wracking last over to see his side home by a bare margin of four runs.
Joe Clarke, Tom Moores, and Alex Hales have been the major contributors with the bat for Nottinghamshire this season. The trio has scored eight half-centuries in total and has the ability to play with aggressive intent right from the onset.
Shaheen Afridi is in sensational form with the ball this season. He can bowl upfront with the new ball and also has an uncanny ability to keep the flow of the runs down during death overs. He has claimed 22 wickets at a stunning average of 20.82. Jake Ball and Steven Mullaney have also looked quite tidy with the ball averaging 20.79 and 25.67 respectively.
2023 T20 Vitality Blast: Can Somerset beat Nottinghamshire?
Somerset has maintained an impressive win record in their last five games winning all of them comprehensively. They certainly have the winning momentum behind them as they lead into this mega blockbuster quarter-final. They have been the most dominant side in the South Group Points table and have toppled nearly every single opposition that they faced.
Nottinghamshire are also coming into this fixture with a win in their earlier game but their overall win record appears to be scratchy for the most part. Hence our win predictor forecasts a Somerset victory by a massive margin.
Prediction: Somerset to win this Q3 T20 Blast match.