Lancashire vs Surrey, Vitality T20 Blast Prediction: Who will win today's Quarter-Final 2?

After nearly two months of intense action-packed cricket, Lancashire and Surrey have finally prevailed by making it to the Quarter Final stage. The second quarter-final match of the 2023 T20 Vitality Blast league will unfold on July 7 at Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester.

Lancashire finished second in the North Group Points table with 8 wins under their belt possessing a NRR of 0.427. On the other hand, Surrey finished third in the South Group Points table with eight wins as well. Their NRR currently stands at an impressive high of 1.192. Both teams have clashed twice and have managed to win one game a piece in the preceding Blast editions.

With that being said, this contest can surely be anybody’s game here. In this article, we will try to decode which side has the upper hand here.

Lancashire have only been defeated on five occasions mainly by Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Durham, and Worcestershire. The team started of the season on a winning note but suffered a string of defeats in the middle phases of the tournament. After enduring a very brief rough patch, Lancashire made an astounding recovery.

They managed to win five games in the last seven fixtures which helped them secure a spot in the playoffs. They bowled really well in their last fixture against Northamptonshire to restrict them to a very cheap total of 137. Luke Wood was the pick of the bowlers who returned impressive figures of 3/17 in his allotted four overs. Phil Salt came out to bat and made a mockery of the target by chasing it down within 17 overs.

Furthermore, they managed to register an impressive outing against Derbyshire in a rain-affected match on June 23. Lancashire ended their first innings with a strong total of 177/4 in 15 overs courtesy of Jos Buttler’s heroic knock of 83 (39). Tom Bailey and Daryl Mitchell got into the act and registered combined figures of 4/29 in 4 overs to derail Derbyshire well short of their target.

Daryl Mitchell, Jos Buttler, and Liam Livingstone are in red-hot form this season averaging 40.9, 32.44, and 26.4 respectively. The trio has a strike rate in excess of 140 and has the ability to play some dazzling cameos. Luke Wood has been the go-to bowler for Lancashire this season with 17 scalps to his name. He averages 21.41 and has picked up his best bowling figures of 3/11. Luke Wells has also looked in threatening form with the ball striking at 17.4 with 10 wickets to his tally.

Surrey have lost 6 games so far this season. They too started their campaign on a winning note but faltered just a fraction during the middle phases of the tournament. However, right at the backend of the league stage, the team has lost three consecutive games in a row. But dues to a much better NRR, Surrey was fortunate enough to make their way through to the quarter-final stage of this competition.

They would be extremely gutted with the performance after losing out to Essex in a nail-biting thriller in their last fixture. They had the game completely under their control but gave it away on the last ball of the match by conceding a six.

Somerset too had the better of them in the earlier fixture as they failed to chase a colossal target of 209. Bowlers displayed some ordinary effort leaking runs at over 8.5 RPO. Surrey batters tried to show some positive intent but the target proved to be a bit too big for them in the end.

Their major disappointment in their last three games came against Middlesex where they lost the game despite posting a humongous total of 252. Batters including Will Jacks and Laurie Evans played breathtaking cameos but that was not enough as the bowlers failed to devise a containing strategy conceding runs at an astronomical rate of more than 10 RPO.

Will Jacks, Laurie Evans, and Sam Curran are in decent form with the bat for Surrey striking at well over 150. They have batted with a healthy average and have already registered a few half-century scores to their name. Sunil Narine and Sam Curran are the key bowlers as they have picked up the most number of wickets for Surrey this season. The duo shares 34 wickets between them averaging nearly 26 and have delivered with the ball on many occasions.

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2023 T20 Vitality Blast: Can Lancashire beat Surrey?

Surrey CCC v Essex Eagles - Vitality Blast T20

Lancashire has the upper hand here as they have the winning momentum behind them. Surrey do not appear to be confident as they approach this fixture with three back-to-back losses to their name. Hence, Lancashire enter this do-or-die match as obvious favorites but we never know if we are in for a surprise.

Prediction: Lancashire to win this Q2 T20 Blast match.