Long-time T20 Blast leaders Surrey secured a home quarterfinal match after beating the Kent Spitfires by four wickets with Jason Roy's 27-ball 58 and Sam Curran's 30-ball 50 leading a spectacular chase in a high-scoring affair. Curran was the star as Surrey successfully chased down Kent's 191 for five with nine balls to spare.
It was Surrey's tenth win in 13 group games, with one match rained off. Earlier in the game, Alex Blake entertained the fans with a 50 not out from 25 balls, including four sixes and two fours, but even his hitting paled beside the extraordinary strokeplay of Roy and Curran.
Fast bowler Matt Milnes, finished with the expensive figures of 48 runs in three overs as he felt the full force of Roy smashing three successive sixes and then a four from his second over, the sixth of the innings. Then, returning for the 17th over, Curran twice smashed him straight for a six and also pulled him for another maximum over the deep square leg as 19 more were plundered from it.
Both Curran and Roy hit five sixes, with opener Roy also striking five fours before he was bowled by spinner Qais Ahmad in the seventh over. Even though Kent tried seven bowlers, Darren Stevens did not bowl and Jamie Smith ended the game off Fred Klaassen's ball which went for a four.
Kent's total was based on three sparkling innings - 41 off 29 balls by Tuwanda Muyeye and Jordan Cox's 31-ball 54 at the start, and then the explosive Blake at the end. Perhaps Blake, indeed, should have come in one place earlier, rather than at No. 5, so cleanly did he strike the ball.
