TAUNTON: Pakistan international Imad Wasim’s all-round exploits in the quarter-final of the ongoing T20 Blast 2023 went in vain as his side Nottinghamshire crashed out.
Imad Wasim lit up the third quarter-final of the T20 Blast between Nottinghamshire and Somerset with his all-round exploits, scoring an unbeaten 31 before following it up with two wickets.
Nottinghamshire, after opting to bat first, were reeling at 108/6 in 16 overs when Imad Wasim came to bat.
The left-handed batter baton charged Somerset bowlers with belligerent hitting and bolstered his side’s total at the backend.
He smashed two boundaries and a six on his way to an unbeaten 31 and faced just 15 deliveries.
His quickfire cameo lifted Nottinghamshire to finish at 157/6 in the allotted 20 overs.
Set to defend 158 to book their spot in the semi-final of the extravaganza, Nottinghamshire got off to a perfect start to the defence courtesy of a magnificent second over by Imad Wasim.
The left-arm spinner dominated Somerset batters in his first over of the spell and removed hard-hitting batters Tom Banton and Tom Kohler Cadmore and did not concede a run.
Imad Wasim, however, could not imitate the magic in his remaining overs and returned with decent figures of 2/33 in his four overs.
Despite his all-round performance, Nottinghamshire succumbed to a narrow five-wicket defeat against Somerset and crashed out of the title race.
Nottinghamshire had Somerset struggling at 62/5 in the 10th over but could not contain the former champions.
Somerset captain Lewis Gregory played a pivotal role in his side’s triumph by scoring a brilliant half-century in the crucial run chase.
He scored an unbeaten 57 off just 34 deliveries with the help of one boundary and five sixes.
Ben Green also supported Gregory well with his unbeaten 35 and put on a match-winning 96-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Nottinghamshire’s defeat marked the end of Imad Wasim’s T20 Blast stint.