Surrey’s overseas signing for the Twenty20 Cup, Abdul Razzaq, hurried the Brown Caps to victory against the Sussex Sharks at the Brit Insurance Oval this afternoon.

Razzaq came to the crease with Surrey stuttering on 90 for five chasing 142, and proceeded to smear 39 from only 20 deliveries to race his side to victory.

Chris Nash got Sussex off to a flying start with a series of nicely struck boundaries and together with Matthew Prior took the Sharks into a commanding position.

Ramprakash turned to the spin of Matthew Spriegel and Usman Afzaal in an attempt to slow the scoring rate and they did not disappoint their captain. With the pace taken off the ball the run rate dried up and with wickets falling, Surrey found themselves back in the game.

Spriegel and Afzaal both picked up wickets very economically with each bowler’s allotted four overs only conceding 16 runs. Having been 62 for no wicket, Sussex soon found themselves 100 for five but thanks to a good partnership between Michael Yardy and Chris Adams the visitors managed to post a more than expected 141 for five from their 20 overs.

Scott Newman continued his good form with the bat to strike the ball cleanly but the Brown Caps lost their other opener James Benning lbw for just seven. Although off to a good start, Surrey lost wickets at regular intervals to make Sussex’s total an awkward chase.

Newman went for 21, caught off a leading edge and the score became 68 for three when Ramprakash was run out after a mix-up between him and Ali Brown. When Brown and Jonathan Batty went with the score 90 for five, the game was evenly placed.

However some incredible ball striking from Razzaq, where he struck four fours and two sixes in one over from Robin Martin-Jenkins, took the game away from the Sharks to take Surrey only eight runs from victory with three overs remaining. Shortly after the game was over, giving Surrey their first win in this year’s competition and leaving the South Division wide open.

The Brown Caps will now prepare for a trip to Lord’s tomorrow where they will meet Middlesex in the hotly anticipated London Derby.

Click here to see highlights of today's match on Surrey TV

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