T-20 Blast Final: Somerset became T-20 Blast champion, beat Essex by 14 runs in the final

T-20 Blast Final 2023: In the thrilling final of T20 Blast 2023, Somerset won the title for the second time after 18 years by defeating Essex by 14 runs under the leadership of Lewis Gregory. Put in to bat after losing the toss, Somerset got off to a poor start with openers Tom Banton and Will Smeed scoring 20 and 9 respectively, but Sean Dixon's innings stabilized Somerset's innings. Dixon scored 53 runs in 35 balls and played a key role in taking his team to 145 runs.

Shane Snatter and Paul Walter were the top wicket-takers for Essex in the first innings, with three wickets each. Apart from this, Matt Critchley and Daniel Sams took one wicket each. Chasing down a target of 146, Essex needed a good start and Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence provided that start, scoring 19 and 16 respectively.

However, Essex were derailed when Matt Henry caught the ball. Henry sent both the Essex openers to the pavilion and then Michael Pepper, who landed at number three, also sent the pavilion to the pavilion for just one run, stirred the Essex camp. The pressure was back on Essex, led by Simon Harmer, with the top-order being dismissed early in the run chase.

After that innings from Paul Walter and Daniel Sams gave the team some hope; However, even this was not enough to secure the victory for Essex in the end. Walter scored 26 off 24 balls, while Sams scored 45 off 26 balls lower down the order. Despite fighting innings from both of them, towards the end, Essex could only manage 131 runs on the board and Somerset won the match by 14 runs.