Bengaluru, Oct 5: Somerset booked a place in the Nokia CLT20 2011 semi-finals by beating the Warriors here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Craig Kieswetter and Alfonso Thomas contributed with bat and ball respectively for the England county side in their 12-run victory over the Warriors.

Somerset won the toss and opted to bat first in the crucial league encounter. However, their innings lacked the kind of bluster Royal Challengers Bangalore had provided spectators at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

The Warriors suffered a blow before the start of the match as wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher was ruled out of the tournament owing to an injury; Athenkosi Dyili replaced Boucher in the squad. However, the Warriors put the disappointment of Boucher’s absence behind them as Lonwabo Tstosobe combined with Dyili to send Peter Trego (0), Somerset’s highest run-scorer in this tournament, back to the dug-out off just the fifth ball of the innings.

But Craig Kieswetter held the Somerset innings together and struck an unbeaten half-century (56*) to take Somerset to what seemed like a below-par score of 146 at the halfway mark. Roelof van der Merwe (32 off 16) and Jos Buttler (30 off 23) chipped in with useful individual scores. Nicky Boje and Johan Botha were at their miserly best for the Warriors, the two spinners conceding just 41 runs in the eight overs bowled between them. Botha also claimed the wicket of James Hildreth (21).

The Warriors seemed to be cruising to a comfortable win halfway through their run-chase as JJ Smuts and Colin Ingram took the side to 71 for the loss of one wicket in 10 overs. However, the South African club’s fortunes went into decline as medium-pacer Adam Dibble struck in the 12th over to send back Ingram (31). JJ Smuts (38) fell four deliveries later to the left-arm spin of Murali Kartik.

A middle-order collapse ensued for the Warriors as they were restricted to a score of 134 for the loss of eight wickets by Somerset. Alfonso Thomas was outstanding, as usual, with figures of two for 16 from four overs while Kartik and Steve Kirby also took two wickets each.

Brief scores: Somerset 146/4 in 20.0 overs (Craig Kieswetter 56*, Roelof van der Merwe 32, Johan Botha 1/20, Juan Theron 1/23) beat Warriors 134/8 in 20.0 overs (JJ Smuts 38, Colin Ingram 31, Alfonso Thomas 2/16, Murali Kartik 2/23) by 12 runs

Man-of-the-match: Alfonso Thomas for his incisive and economical bowling spell of 4-0-16-2