T20 Blast: Somerset batsman Babar Azam blows Glamorgan away

Babar Azam was the leading run-scorer in the 2019 T20 Blast, making 578 runs in 13 innings which included his previous 20-over best of 102

Pakistan batsman Babar Azam guided Somerset to a crushing 66-run victory against Glamorgan with a career-best T20 innings in Cardiff.

Azam was dropped twice on his way to an unbeaten 114 from 62 balls in Somerset's total of 183-3.

The 25-year-old shared a fourth-wicket stand of 110 runs in 10.4 overs with teenage debutant Lewis Goldsworthy.

Following a poor fielding display, Glamorgan could only manage 117 in 15.5 overs in response.

Somerset kept alive their chances of quarter-final qualification from the Central Group, with Glamorgan now out of contention for the last eight.

Azam had only scored 58 in four innings in 2020 for Somerset before this game and was the beneficiary of some Glamorgan fielding generosity after the visitors were put into bat.

Andrew Salter dropped a difficult chance at backward point when Azam was on 10, while Owen Morgan spilled an opportunity at third man when the Pakistan T20 captain was on 66.

Azam finished with nine fours and five sixes, while teenager Goldsworthy was also dropped by Callum Taylor on his way to 38.

Glamorgan made a disastrous start in the run chase when captain Chris Cooke and vice-captain David Lloyd fell to the second over bowled by spinner Roelof van der Merwe in a two-wicket maiden.

The hosts never recovered as Goldsworthy, 19, also chipped in with two wickets on a successful debut, while Craig Overton took three wickets.

Glamorgan head coach Matthew Maynard told BBC Radio Wales: "Catches win matches. We saw that in the third over of the game when we dropped Babar and in the second over of our chase they caught (David) Lloyd. Both in a way were game changing.

"You can't afford to drop the world's best T20 batsman and we did that twice.

"They have had a fielding coach for eight years and work hard on it and did not miss a chance.

"We have never had a fielding coach ever at the club and it's a big part of the game."

Somerset all-rounder Lewis Goldsworthy told BBC Radio Somerset: "It was a dream come true and something I have wanted to do since I was a young boy.

"To get the opportunity to bat with Babar is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

"He was just so calm and it was a pleasure to be out there with a top-quality player. I was in the team to bowl firstly and it is probably my main suit."