While the England Test team is currently battling for supremacy in the first Test match against New Zealand at the Lord's, many of their players are fighting to prove their worth in the ongoing Vitality T20 Blast, England's domestic T20 tournament. One of England's top international talents in Sam Curran is also a part of this tournament and the all-rounder is using this opportunity to return to his previous form and break into the national set once again.
Curran has returned to the field after seven months, playing for Surrey in the Vitality Blast. In their game against Hampshire, the 24-year-old scored 69 runs with the bat and then also took five wickets with the ball. His excellent all-round performance guided Surrey to a big victory by a 72-run victory over their opponents.
The English star is also an Indian Premier League (IPL) winner. Curran was an important all-rounder for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2021 and helped his team to the title with a convincing win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final. But he was plagued with a lower back injury in the second phase of IPL 2021 held in the UAE in October. Because of this, Curran returned home and he took seven months to recover. He was not even a part of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021 and the IPL 2022 season.
Curran's stunning innings for Surrey saw him score 69 runs at a staggering strike rate of 181.57. He was ably supported by Will Jacques, who scored 64 runs, and Sunil Narine, who smashed 52 runs in 23 balls with five fours and four sixes. This helped Surrey to an unassailable score of 228 runs in 20 overs for the loss of just four wickets. But Curran's contributions did not end there.
With Hampshire chasing a mammoth target of 229 runs, their batting collapsed and the team could only muster 156 runs before losing all their wickets. James Fuller was their highest scorer, with 43 runs under his belt. Curran led the line for the bowlers with five wickets for 30 runs in his stipulated four overs.
