Defeat rocks Somerset challenge

Champions League, Hyderabad: Eagles 133-5 (18.4 overs) beat Somerset 132-8 (20 overs) by five wickets
Match scorecards from official website

Langer's team lost too many wickets in the early stages

Somerset's Champions League hopes all but ended at the Super Eight phase with a five-wicket loss to Eagles.

It needed a stand of 77 between James Hildreth and Wes Durston to take Somerset to 132-8, Durston with 10 fours in his 57 from 32 deliveries.

Morne van Wyk made a fluent 47 in reply and despite some late hiccups, Eagles made the target with eight balls left.

A stunning 54 from just 18 balls from Kieron Pollard saw Trinidad and Tobago beat New South Wales in the other game.

In the match of the two form teams, Trinidad needed 51 from the final four overs after David Warner and Phil Hughes had powered the Australian side to 170-4 with a stand of 121 in little more than 15 overs.

But Pollard took 27 in an over from Moises Henriques and then hammered the seamer again in his next over, finishing the match in stunning fashion with successive sixes down the ground.

In stark contrast a sparse crowd witnessed the lowest score in a Twenty20 match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad as Somerset wilted after choosing to bat against their South African opponents.

Craig Kieswetter was promoted to open in the absence of Marcus Trescothick, but after two boundaries in the first three balls, he quickly succumbed.

606: DEBATE

Bad luck Somerset, good luck for next season, especially Marcus Trescothick

pompeymeowth

Man-of-the-match Cornelius De Villiers (4-17), metronomic with his bustling action, claimed successive lbw's and added the wicket of Zander de Bruyn in his next over after a reckless pull shot spooned to mid-off.

Hildreth hit successive fours off Adrian McLaren to take the total to 40-3 after the six overs of powerplay but skipper Justin Langer fell immediately afterwards when he charged spinner Thandi Tshabalala and yorked himself.

Kruger was brought into the attack and after conceding only two singles removed Peter Trego with the final ball of the over, courtesy of a magnificent return catch.

At the halfway point the score was a precarious 55-5 but Durston was rewarded for his postive intent with three successive boundaries.

He repeated the triple boundary feat, reaching his maiden Twenty20 fifty from just 26 balls with his ninth four, before slicing a slower ball to deep mid-on in the penultimate over.

Charl Willoughby gave Somerset some cause for optimism when he picked up two wickets via top edges in the powerplay segment.

It's been a real eye opener, especially for our young guys, to step up to the next level

Justin Langer

Eagles skipper Boeta Dippenaar looked to be guiding his team to a comfortable victory before mis-timing a drive at leg-spinner Max Waller to Durston on the long-off boundary.

Kieswetter took a superb running catch from behind the stumps at almost mid-wicket to dismiss Van Wyk, who had earlier planted Waller into the stands.

With one run needed there were five dot balls, including the wicket of Ryan Bailey, who carved Alfonso Thomas to backward point, before the winning single was achieved with a leg bye.

"It's been a real eye opener, especially for our young guys, to step up to the next level," Langer said. "It's been an emotional rollercoaster but a great tournament, very well organised, with fantastic grounds and cut-throat competition."