Sourav Ganguly failed with the bat but more than made up for it by making two crucial breakthroughs with the ball as Northamptonshire beat Somerset by five wickets in the Twenty20 Cup at Tauntan.

The deposed Indian captain just managed to hit a boundary before being bowled by RL Johnson after facing nine balls but a quick-fire 62 off 40 balls by DG Sales helped Northants successfully chase a target 191 set by the visitors.

Put in to bat first, Somerset wrested the initiative with Aussie Test opener Justin Langer hitting a quick-fire 67-ball 97.

Langer shared a 71-run first wicket partnership with MJ Wood before Ganguly struck, dismissing Wood for 43.

The southpaw then had CL White stumped for 10 putting the brakes on Somerset's scoring. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 188 with Monty Panesar chipping in with two wickets as well.

Ganguly's figures read 4-0-20-2.

Northants began their reply on a shaky note as Ganguly departed for four but contributions by Sales and other middle-order batsmen, including a 16-ball 28 by Lance Klusener, saw the hosts reaching the target with five wickets and three balls to spare.