CL 2010, Match 20: Chennai pip Warriors, both make semi-finals

Warriors v Chennai, CLT20 2010, Port Elizabeth
September 22, 2010

It's not often that both contestants of a sporting encounter celebrate at the end of a match. That strange sight was on offer in Port Elizabeth after Chennai Super Kings prevailed over Warriors in a tense league match, paving the way for both teams to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 at the expense of Victoria.

Chennai's chances seemed to have evaporated when they stumbled to 136 after choosing to bat in a must-win match, but on a spin-friendly track their strategy of packing the team with slow bowlers paid off as they tenaciously defended that total to set up an all-IPL semi-final against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Durban.

Briefly, midway through the chase, it looked as though an IPL team would break the hearts of the home crowd for the second day in a row but it was the Chennai fans who faced some panicky moments when Justin Kreusch and Mark Boucher revived the Warriors with a 44-run fourth-wicket stand.

Two Boucher sixes off Shadab Jakati left Warriors needing a gettable 32 off three overs with seven wickets remaining and two set batsmen at the crease. Chennai's edginess was shown by Muttiah Muralitharan's tirade at S Badrinath after a run-out chance was muffled following some kamikaze running between the wickets in the 16th over. Read more...

Brief Score:
Chennai Super Kings 136 for 6 (Hussey 50, Vijay 35, Kreusch 3-19) beat Warriors 126 for 8 (Jacobs 32, Ashwin 3-24)

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 19: Wayamba thrash Central Districts for consolation win

Central Districts v Wayamba, CLT20 2010, Port Elizabeth
September 22, 2010

Isuru Udana's exploits with the slower ball and Central Districts' insipid performance with the bat helped Wayamba salvage a consolation win and inflict a fourth consecutive defeat on their opponents. On a track hardly threatening for batting, Wayamba struggled through periods of stagnation to reach a score that appeared inadequate but Udana, whose stock ball is the slower delivery, made it a formidable one with the tournament's first hat-trick. He was supported well by the spinners amid a spineless chase, which undermined a disciplined effort by the Central Districts bowlers early in the day.

Central Districts had been the better of the two teams in the run-up to this game, particularly in their batting, and were favourites to avoid a whitewash after their bowlers had stifled Wayamba. There was little movement on offer, the pitch was slightly on the slower side and the bowlers had to earn their wickets with their variations. Ajantha Mendis reaped success with the googly, Rangana Herath bowled the carrom ball while Udana flummoxed the batsmen with deliveries that were just around the 100kmph mark. The frequency with which Udana delivers the slower ball would give you the impression the batsmen know what to expect. But the Central Districts top order, previously unexposed to his bowling, was unprepared and thoroughly deceived. Read more...

Brief Score:
Wayamba 144 for 6 (Mubarak 30, Mason 2-16) beat Central Districts 70 (Griggs 19, Mendis 3-14, Udana 3-22) by 74 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 18: Kohli, Kumble take Bangalore to semis

Lions v Bangalore, CLT20 2010, Johannesburg
September 21, 2010

It was nearly another heartbreak for Virat Kohli. Chasing a below-par total, thanks to Anil Kumble's four overs for 13 runs and Alviro Petersen's wicket, Royal Challengers Bangalore nearly messed it up, staying behind the required rate for 16 overs. Nerves began to show when Kohli ran Robin Uthappa out in the 15th over, and followed it up with plays-and-misses in the 16th. However, with 43 required off four overs, Kohli pulled Bangalore out of the hole he seemed to have dug them, hitting Ethan O'Reilly for six, six, and four. It was a cruise after that, making Bangalore the first IPL team to have made it to a Champions League T20 semi-final. Uthappa wasn't angry anymore.

Two nights ago, Kohli was down on his haunches, inconsolable after he fell just short of pulling off an improbable chase against Mumbai Indians. Then at least he had Rahul Dravid to pat his back. Tonight, after he called Uthappa for a non-existent second and then changed his mind, he was all alone, down on his haunches, until Cameron White came out to bat.

In the next over, Kohli top-edged one, refused a single to White, and was beaten twice. It was a gradual turn, but what had looked an easy chase, especially after a 53-run opening stand between Rahul Dravid and Manish Pandey, was now almost out of hand because there hadn't been the urgency earlier to score quickly.

Kohli, just 23 off 20 then, would have seen himself as part of the problem. He was about to become the solution. It all started with his favourite shot. O'Reilly missed a yorker by inches and Kohli flicked it off the pads for a flat six. A low full toss followed; dispatched over long-on. A length ball then, which went past extra cover for four. In three balls, the required rate was down to the original eight an over, and that Uthappa run-out was a distant memory. Read more...

Brief Score:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 160 for 4 (Kohli 49*, Pandey 44) beat Lions 159 for 6 (Petersen 45, Vinay Kumar 2-23, Kumble 1-13) by six wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 17: Guyana fail to deny South Australia 100% record

Guyana v South Australia, CLT20 2010, Johannesburg
September 21, 2010

South Australia had already strolled into the semi-finals and seemingly had little to gain against the also-rans from Guyana in their final league match, but still benefited as their largely untested middle-order got a thorough and much-needed workout in Johannesburg. Callum Ferguson made a typically intelligent half-century and, with assistance from No. 5 Cameron Borgas, helped South Australia preserve their 100% record in the league phase by powering the Redbacks to their highest total of the tournament.

The other challenge for South Australia was for their bowling attack to manage without the furious pace of the injured Shaun Tait, a test they barely passed after Ramnaresh Sarwan made Guyana's first half-century of the tournament to make the game much less of a mismatch than was initially feared.

It was easily Guyana's best performance of the tournament, troubling South Australia with the new ball and then remaining in the hunt for much of the chase despite facing a mammoth target. In perfect batting conditions, Sarwan exploited the short boundary towards long-off to siphon plenty of runs, and was well supported by the youngsters, Richard Ramdeen and Steven Jacobs, as Guyana asked South Australia's bowlers plenty of questions. Read more...

Brief Score:
South Australia 191 for 6 (Ferguson 55, Borgas 48) beat Guyana 176 for 7 (Sarwan 70, Harris 3-33) by 15 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 16: Intense Victoria maul woeful Wayamba

Victoria v Wayamba, CLT20 2010, Centurion
September 20, 2010

Wayamba's Champions League hopes crashed in Centurion against a top-quality fielding effort from Victoria that was backed by purposeful bowling and batting. Victoria looked like the side more hungry to succeed in a must-win game for both teams and Wayamba paid the price, losing five batsmen for ducks as they spluttered to 106. Things could have been far worse but for a brief period of sublime strokeplay from Jehan Mubarak and a nervy half-century from Mahela Jayawardene. Those two contributed 95, and extras, at six, was the next highest score in Wayamba's listless innings.

David Hussey and Aaron Finch then bustled to the victory target without too many problems to seal an eight-wicket win. Their urgency, however, wasn't enough for Victoria to surpass Warriors' net run-rate, and their semi-final prospects hinged on either a defeat or a comprehensive win for Chennai in the final league game.

Victoria's intensity was epitomised by the second over of the game. James Pattinson struck with his first ball in the tournament, yorking Jeevantha Kulatunga for his second successive duck. Mahela Udawatte, returning to the side after missing the previous game, began with a confident drive on the move that would have eased his nerves in normal circumstances. No such luck today: Clint McKay, fielding well inside the circle at mid-off, scampered to his right and dived full length to stop the shot. Udawatte's disappointment at being denied four quickly gave way to shock as McKay sat up and threw down middle stump at the striker's end, beating the batsman's scramble to the crease. Read more...

Brief Score:
Victoria 108 for 2 (Hussey 47*, Finch 38*) beat Wayamba 106 (Jayawardene 51, Mubarak 41, Siddle 4-29) by eight wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 15: Mumbai prevail in last-ball finish

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, CLT20 2010, Durban
September 19, 2010

Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed to have out-thought, out-planned and out-executed Mumbai Indians until Anil Kumble dropped Dwayne Bravo off his own bowling in the 15th over, a catch that would have reduced Mumbai to 86 for 6. Bravo, Saurabh Tiwary and Harbhajan Singh added 79 more to the rest of the innings. Mumbai's bowlers then just about hung in to prevail in a last-ball finish, but their team was knocked out of the tournament.

Bangalore fined
Royal Challengers Bangalore have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during the match. The fines were assessed after Bangalore were ruled to be one over short of their target at the end of the match.
In accordance with Champions League rules, Anil Kumble, the captain, has been fined US$1500 while the rest of the players have been hit with a US$750 fine each.
Rahul Dravid's anchorman 71 off 58, and Virat Kohli's 24-ball 47 that almost deserved to be on the winning side, had brought 40 off 18 down to 13 required off the last over. Zaheer Khan - a former IPL team-mate - began with two superb slower short balls, but he also missed two yorkers by a few inches. Kohli smashed those low full tosses for leg-side boundaries. Three required off the last ball. Another yorker went wrong. Low full toss. Kohli had done it twice, he just needed to repeat it, but the wrists turned a fraction of a second earlier. So hard had he swung, the leading edge kissed the sky and came down.

Ambati Rayudu held his nerve when a drop there would have produced a tie. Zaheer and Rayudu exulted, Kohli went down on his haunches. The man his technique is often compared to, Dravid, stood there, patted his back, consoled him, but it didn't seem to work.

Bangalore, though, will get another chance. Mumbai won't. In fact, the result doesn't change the course of the tournament much. The Bangalore-Lions game still remains a knockout affair. Bangalore need to win to force a three-way tie between themselves, Lions and Mumbai for the second semi-final slot from Group B. Kohli's late hitting, however, has made sure their net run-rate stays the best of the three, while Mumbai's ends worst. Read more...

Brief Score:
Mumbai Indians 165 for 7 (Tiwary 38*, Steyn 3-26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 163 for 5 (Dravid 71*, Kohli 47, Bravo 2-23) by two runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 14: All-round Lions crush listless Guyana

Lions v Guyana, CLT20 2010, Johannesburg
September 19, 2010

Lions brushed aside an uninspired Guyana in front of a healthy Johannesburg home crowd to boost their chances of making the semi-finals. After Guyana's batsmen showed a lack of nous, and put up an inadequate total, Richard Cameron and Alviro Petersen blunted their attack to pilot the Lions to victory with nearly five overs to spare. Guyana never looked like repeating the heart-warming run of Trinidad & Tobago, who powered their way to the final of the Champions League last year, and their slim chances of reaching the final four ended with this crushing defeat.

Guyana's batsman looked to thrash almost every delivery, and mistimed plenty of strokes, but never attempted to dab the ball around to rotate the strike when things weren't going their way. A late flourish lifted them from the depths of 88 for 6 to the relative respectability of 148, which still proved too trifling a target.

The express pace of Craig Alexander and the sideways movement extracted by some of the Lions other quick bowlers proved too much for Guyana. The trouble started in the very first delivery of the match when Travis Dowlin escaped an extremely close lbw call. His short stay foreshadowed the Guyana effort: filled with thrashes and flails for little reward, and one panicky piece of running before he fell in the second over. Read more...

Brief Score:
Lions 149 for 1 (Cameron 78*, Petersen 57*) beat Guyana 148 for 9 (Jacobs 34, O'Reilly 4-27) by nine wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 13: David Hussey gives Victoria win in Super Over finish

Chennai Super Kings v Victoria Bushrangers, CLT20 2010, Port Elizabeth
September 18, 2010

Twenty20 was at its chaotic best - or worst, looking at some of the shots played - in giving Champions League T20 its first Super Over, one that Victoria Bushrangers won emphatically to stay alive in the tournament.

With 24 required off the last three overs, and David Hussey entrenched on 48, it looked like a cruise, but poor shot after poor shot gave Suresh Raina four wickets in the 18th and 20th overs. Hussey left the job unfinished, but came back to finish some with three sixes in the Super Over.

Redemption seemed to be the theme of the night. R Ashwin, though, who bowled the Super Over for Chennai Super Kings, was left on his knees, all alone despite consolatory pats on his back. Doug Bollinger, not given the Super Over, was left an angry fast bowler, kicking the ground, mouthing off, sitting in the dressing room as opposed to the dugout. It was that kind of night.

Emotions were completely in check, though, after Aaron Finch's stunning 41 off 17 at the start of the chase. Victoria needed a straightforward 59 off 50 when Muttiah Muralitharan took two wickets in two balls. They were still in control with six wickets in hand when Raina began the 18th over. Madness was about to strike.

Raina fielded the first ball, and went for a blind reverse-flick. Had he hit, he would have got Rob Quiney. Had he not tried, he wouldn't have conceded the overthrow that brought Quiney on strike. Quiney, perhaps lured by the short leg-side boundary, went to pull a length ball, and lost his middle stump. John Hastings, hero of Victoria's bowling effort, got stumped trying a massive slog as opposed to giving Hussey the strike. Twenty-one from 13. Still manageable. Read more...

Brief Score:
Chennai Super Kings 162 for 6 (Vijay 73, Hastings 2-22) tied with Victoria Bushrangers 162 (D Hussey 51, Finch 41, Raina 4-26, Murali 2-17). Victoria won in Super Over

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 12: Jacobs, Prince knock Central Districts out

Warriors v Central Districts, CLT20 2010, Port Elizabeth
September 18, 2010

Davey Jacobs continued his sparkling run of form, lashing 74 against Central Districts' limited attack, as Warriors chased down 176 with surprising ease in their third victory in three games. Jamie How powered Central Districts to a strong total with another display of measured aggression, but Jacobs, supported by Ashwell Prince who made 64, ensured it was completely overshadowed.

Jacobs has a ruthless Plan A: he stays deep in the crease, gets beside the line and uncorks his wrists late to whiplash boundaries through the off side. He had used it to pulverise Victoria in the previous game and began in similar fashion today as Michael Mason's first two balls pinged the off-side boundary. Adam Milne went in the same direction in the next over, forcing Central Districts to correct their lines. Jacobs then unveiled Plan B, and it was even more efficient: instead of getting beside the line, he moved across his stumps to get inside the line. In the process, middle-stump yorkers were converted into leg-stump half-volleys, and leg-side fielders into ball retrievers.

In the fourth over from Doug Bracewell, Jacobs repeatedly walked across to smear deliveries angling into him - twice along the ground and twice over the ropes. In the next over, Prince got going as well, launching Milne over wide long-on. How was forced to bring on his spinner George Worker within the Powerplay. No luck there either. His first ball was miscued by Prince over the infield for four more. Peter Ingram's horrors continued as he followed his duck earlier in the day with a drop when Prince tried to clear long-on, as Warriors looted 65 in the Powerplay. Read more...

Brief Score:
Warriors 181 for 4 (Jacobs 74, Prince 64, Noema-Barnett 2-28) beat Central Districts 175 for 3 (How 88*, Noema-Barnett 53*, Botha 1-16) by seven wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 11: South Australia ease into semis with three in three

Bangalore v South Australia, CLT20 2010, Durban
September 17, 2010

Delightful fast bowling from Shaun Tait, solid back-up medium-pace from Daniel Christian and a near-perfect chase from Daniel Harris and Michael Klinger, who continues to cling onto the golden bat with his third match-winning fifty in three games, took South Australia Redbacks to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

For about 25 overs, this had everything a Twenty20 game should have. Tait's pace like fire, sensational fielding, Ross Taylor's counter-punching, Tait's comeback to get Taylor, Dillon du Preez's stunner in the second half of the innings, some more special fielding, and Christian's three-wicket last over. Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar followed it up with a spirited defence, but the South Australia openers played sensibly, taking sharp singles and getting occasional boundaries. Once South Australia had kept the opening seamers wicketless, Royal Challengers Bangalore's bowling became progressively looser, misfields and dropped catches found their way in and the last 100 runs were a cruise in the heavy Durban breeze.

Tait set up the night beautifully. He didn't quite burn the speed gun, but bowled quick enough and got disconcerting bounce from deliveries fuller than bouncers. Manish Pandey top-edged a quick back-of-a-length ball in his first over, and an inside edge to a surprise full toss saved Rahul Dravid in his second. In between those overs, Callum Ferguson accounted for Robin Uthappa with a diving catch at cover-point even as all eyes had moved to the square boundary. Read more...

Brief Score:
South Australia Redbacks 155 for 2 (Klinger 69*, Harris 57) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 154 (Taylor 46, du Preez 46, Christian 4-23, Tait 2-23) by eight wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 10: Mumbai stay alive after Pollard pummels Guyana

Guyana v Mumbai Indians, CLT20 2010, Durban
September 16, 2010

Kieron Pollard played the sort of innings that has made him a multi-millionaire and the game's foremost Twenty20 freelancer to muscle Mumbai Indians to a victory that kept them alive in the Champions League. At a drizzly Kingsmead he hammered 72 off 30 to extract some revenge against Guyana, who knocked out his fancied home team Trinidad & Tobago in the semi-finals of the domestic Caribbean T20 tournament.

Mumbai seemed to have lost their way a touch after a solid 82-run opening stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan, but the decision to push Pollard to No. 3 worked wonders. Pollard's nine sixes helped Mumbai loot 85 runs in the final five; Ambati Rayudu's contribution in a partnership of 53 was four.

Walking in at 82 for 1 in the 11th over, Pollard started slowly and watched Mumbai lose two wickets in the space of five deliveries. It was in the 16th over that he exploded, treating the Durban crowd to what seemed like extended highlights.

Christopher Barnwell was his first victim as two contrasting sixes flew over midwicket - one a brutal hit and the other an effortless flick. Devendra Bishoo, the legspinner who prised out three wickets in his first three overs, then had his figures damaged by a 19-run over. The debutant Paul Wintz was next up, one of his deliveries sent soaring into the second tier of the stands beyond long-on. Read more...

Brief Score:
Mumbai Indians 184 for 4 (Pollard 72*, Tendulkar 48) beat Guyana 153 for 6 (Sarwan 46) by 31 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 9: Raina, Vijay maul their way to massive win

Chennai v Wayamba, CLT20, Centurion
September 15, 2010

Suresh Raina and M Vijay absolutely mauled the hapless Wayamba attack, scoring 155 off 90 balls between them, which turned out to be 52 more than what their opponents managed in total. The flat SuperSport Park pitch, the short boundaries, and the lightning-quick outfield were made for the death of the bowlers. It didn't help that Wayamba indulged in some drunk-driving themselves: bowling too short, too full, or just too many gentle length deliveries. Raina and Vijay played the perfect Grim Reapers.

Every once in a while everything goes right for Vijay. The pitch doesn't have much lateral movement, the bowlers keep giving him length balls, and he looks a million dollars with his flicks, drives and half-pulls. Tonight seemed to be one of those million-dollar nights until Raina came and stole his thunder, scoring 87 off 44 in the 137-run stand over 12 overs.

Even as Matthew Hayden struggled to 10 off 18, Vijay had swaggered to 28 off 15 in the opening partnership. The lack of real pace and variety in the Wayamba attack allowed him to just clear the front leg, and either flick over the infield or play short-arm pulls. The fifth over of the innings, bowled by Chanaka Welegedara, that went for 23 started the glut. Apart from the usual Vijay hitting over midwicket, it included a remarkable four where he went deep into the crease, converted a yorker into a low full toss and flicked it past midwicket. Read more...

Brief Score:
Chennai Super Kings 200 for 3 (Raina 87, Vijay 68) beat Wayamba 103 (Ashwin 4-18, Morkel 3-22) by 97 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 8: Fantastic Finch stars in Victoria victory

Central Districts v Victoria, CLT20 2010, Centurion
September 15, 2010

Aaron Finch scored a nerveless 93 off 60 balls as pre-tournament favourites Victoria overcame a spirited effort by Central Districts, to chase 166 with two balls to spare. Central Districts punched above their weight for a large part of the match, with their captain Jamie How scoring an equally memorable 77, but their bowlers wilted against Finch's assault, which was aggressive and measured in equal parts.

Central Districts had finished their innings on a high, How turning around a lacklustre beginning with a flurry of boundaries at the end. The pressure was on Victoria, desperate to live up to their pre-tournament billing. Their reply ran into rough weather early, Rob Quiney and Matthew Wade perishing before they could get off the blocks, raising visions of the failed chase against Warriors in their tournament opener. Finch, however, was reading from a different script.

While David Hussey struggled to connect with the big hits, Finch kept Victoria ticking with some aggressive running and the odd four. Without taking risks, he stole four of the five boundaries that came in the six overs following Wade's dismissal. A punch off George Worker through extra-cover in the 12th was followed by a mow off Kieran Noema-Barnett through midwicket to bring up his fifty in the 13th over, off 40 balls. Hussey's fall in the next over once again gave Central Districts the upper hand, but Finch carried on as if nothing had happened. Read more...

Brief Score:
Victoria 166 for 3 (Finch 93*, Rance 1-30) beat Central Districts 165 for 5 (How 77*, Worker 29, Siddle 2-30) by seven wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 7: South Australia pull off massive chase

Mumbai v South Australia, CLT20 2010, Durban
September 14, 2010

South Australia pushed the much-fancied Mumbai Indians to the brink of elimination after a pulsating match in Durban, pulling off a massive chase to make it two wins in two and get a toehold on a place in the final four. In a game filled with frenetic scoring, Mumbai's abysmal fielding gifted the opposition plenty of lives and free runs, which proved to be the major difference between the two sides.

Mumbai seemed overwhelming favourites when Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo were dancing to the music after Pollard mowed Shaun Tait for the biggest six of the tournament in the penultimate over. However, there were cameos to outshine the Trinidad duo, as a nerveless South Australia plundered 69 off the final 5.3 overs to snatch victory. The late fireworks would have been to no avail had it not been for the solid 112-run opening stand between Daniel Harris and captain Michael Klinger. Read more...

Brief Score:
South Australia 182 for 5 (Harris 56, Klinger 50) beat Mumbai Indians 180 for 7 (Tiwary 44, Rayudu 38, Pollard 36) by five wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 6: Jacobs, bowlers help Warriors outplay Victoria

Victoria v Warriors, CLT20, Port Elizabeth
September 13, 2010

Davey Jacobs began with a blitz filled with audacious enterprise, followed up with two sensational catches inside the circle, and finished off with perceptive bowling changes to lead Warriors to a 28-run win over pre-tournament favourite Victoria. Jacobs charged out of the blocks with 59 off 39 balls and, though his batsmen let him down, his bowlers responded in clinical fashion as Warriors became the first side to register two wins in the Champions League.

Pursuing a middling target of 159, Victoria held all the aces despite the early loss of Rob Quiney. Warriors had lost the momentum following Jacobs' assault in the Powerplay overs, and Brad Hodge was settling in to put the chase on course. And then Victoria ran into the one-man army for the second time in the match: in the fifth over, Jacobs back-pedalled furiously at mid-on before leaping up and back to pluck Hodge's mow that was headed to the boundary, reducing Victoria to 20 for 2 after 4.1 overs.

Aaron Finch tried to counterattack, launching the spinners for two sixes as things looked up, but Jacobs was not done. In the ninth over, he flew across from extra-cover towards wide mid-off to intercept Finch's carve in acrobatic fashion. With nine overs gone and the score 59 for 3, Victoria had seen enough of Jacobs for a lifetime.

David Hussey and Andrew McDonald searched desperately for an escape route. The Warriors bowlers, though, were not about to repeat the mistakes of their batsmen. Nicky Boje and Johan Botha, two of the best spinners to have emerged from South Africa, rose to the occasion with a series of tight overs as the pressure mounted. Read more...

Brief Score:
Warriors 158 for 6 (Jacobs 59, Boucher 31, McDonald 2-22, Nannes 1-25, McKay 1-27) beat Victoria 130 for 9 (Hussey 29, Theron 3-22, Ntini 2-33) by 28 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 5: Bangalore thump listless Guyana

Guyana v Bangalore, CLT20 2010, Centurion
September 12, 2010

Royal Challengers Bangalore sauntered to victory against Guyana in the most one-sided game of the tournament so far. It was Guyana's first game on the big stage, and they looked way out of their depth, as the highly rated Bangalore sounded an early warning to the rest of the field.

On a track where 345 runs had been scored in the evening's earlier game, Guyana poked and prodded their way to 103, a total Bangalore overhauled with the small matter of 46 deliveries remaining, giving the net run-rate an early boost. No statistic highlighted Guyana's ineffectual batting as much as the solitary boundary in a ten-over spell after the Powerplays.

None of their batsman, barring Christopher Barnwell to an extent, seemed at ease on a pitch which had some extra bounce to interest the South Africans in Bangalore's attack, and some early movement for Praveen Kumar. Opener Travis Dowlin was perhaps the most unsettled: in a 17-ball stay he was beaten, struck on the pads, squared up while defending, got inside edges, and mishit a pull towards the bowler before finally gloving a short ball to short fine leg. Read more...

Brief Score:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 106 for 1 (Kallis 43*) beat Guyana 103 (Kallis 3-16) by nine wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 4: Captain Klinger leads South Australia to facile win

Lions v South Australia, CLT20 2010, Centurion
September 12, 2010

In what turned out to be a battle of captains - both men started their careers for other teams - Michael Klinger's 48-ball 78 for South Australia Redbacks outweighed Alviro Petersen's 35-ball 56 for the Lions. Klinger's effort not only lasted longer than his counterpart's, he could draw on more support from the other end too: Callum Ferguson, the new vice-captain, raised 97 in 9.3 overs with him after a slow start, a South Australian third-wicket record.

The key moments in the big chase, which seemed on for more than half the innings, came in the 11th and 13th overs. With 86 required off 58 and seven wickets in hand, Neil McKenzie called for a second only to see Gary Putland - at sweeper-cover - fire in a throw right on top of the stumps. So alert were South Australia that Graham Manou, the keeper who has been relieved of captaincy duties, had his keeping glove off, completed the run-out, and then got the non-striker out too. Just in case. Read more...

Brief Score:
South Australia Redbacks 178 for 7 (Klinger 78, Ferguson 47) beat Lions 167 for 8 (Petersen 56, Tait 3-36) by 11 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 3: Badrinath, bowlers seal emphatic win for Chennai

Central Districts v Chennai, CLT20 2010, Durban
September 11, 2010

S Badrinath led a strong counterattack after early losses to guide Chennai to 151, a score that their varied bowling attack defended easily under lights to launch their side's Champions League Twenty20 campaign with a win. Chennai's batsmen recovered from 48 for 3 at the halfway mark of their innings, looting 103 runs off their last 10 overs, nine more than Central Districts managed in their entire chase. Chennai's bowlers maintained control from start to finish, in the process taking a small step towards questioning the theory that IPL teams would struggle in this event.

The game was always going to be decided by how well Central Districts' batsmen would stand up to Chennai's world-class bowling arsenal. And the answers came soon enough: R Ashwin and Suresh Raina dropped chances early in the piece, but even that failed to level the playing field. Doug Bolliner hustled away with a heady mix of pace, bounce and movement. Albie Morkel began the procession, coaxing Peter Ingram into an impulsive pull that went nowhere. Lakshmipathy Balaji then settled into an impressive spell, bowling legcutters at will to outclass the top order, and produced the first maiden of the tournament. Then the spinners came on, and Central Districts' misery was complete. Read more...

Brief Score:
Chennai 151 for 4 (Badrinath 52*, Anirudha 42, Bracewell 2-28) beat Central Districts 94 (Bracewell 30, Balaji 3-20, Bollinger 2-10, Muralitharan 2-15, Ashwin 2-28) by 57 runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 2: Efficient Warriors seal easy win over Wayamba

Warriors v Wayamba, CLT20 2010, Port Elizabeth
September 11, 2010

Juan Theron could do with a better nickname. He was anything but Rusty, taking two wickets in the first over of the match, and one in his first over back, hurting both Wayamba's start and comeback. On St George's Park's flat pitch, and with short boundaries, 154 proved to be a comfortable chase for an efficient Warriors side, who made it two in two for South African teams in Champions League Twenty20. The required run-rate, never a threatening proposition in the first place, fell under six in the 14th over.

Theron, with his efforts at the top and the end of the innings, provided the game-changing moments, reducing Wayamba to 2 for 2 and then ensuring only 43 came off the last six overs. Jeevantha Kulatunga, Wayamba's hard-hitting journeyman opener, counterattacked, scoring 49 off his team's first 69 runs, but missed support from the other end and the innings failed to get a fillip after he got out for 59, in the 15th over. Read more...

Brief Score:
Warriors 156 for 3 (Boucher 40*, Kreusch 37*, Ingram 34) beat Wayamba 153 for 9 (Kulatunga 59, Kushal Perera 39, Theron 3-23) by seven wickets

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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CL 2010, Match 1: Charged-up Lions stun sloppy Mumbai

Lions v Mumbai, CLT20 2010, Johannesburg
September 10, 2010

Sachin Tendulkar the batsman nearly made up for Sachin Tendulkar the captain, but a charged-up Lions side completed a feel-good underdog win in a tense finish to kick off the Champions League T20. Their young opener, Jonathan Vandiar, and the experienced Neil McKenzie gave the star-studded but sloppy Mumbai Indians a rough welcome to the Highveld before Lions' enthusiastic bowlers and fielders did enough to keep the chase in check.

Tendulkar's 69 off 42, which was as good an innings as the fifties from Vandiar and McKenzie, left JP Duminy and Kieron Pollard 56 to get off 33. Shane Burger, gentle right-arm medium-pacer on the face of it, followed up the big wicket of Tendulkar with a pinpoint yorker to remove Pollard. What made that second wicket even more special was that it came at the end of an over in which Pollard smashed Burger all around his home ground. Thirty-one off the remaining three overs proved too much for Duminy. Read more...

Brief Score:
Highveld Lions 186 for 5 (Vandiar 71, McKenzie 56*, Malinga 3-33) beat Mumbai Indians 177 for 6 (Tendulkar 69, Burger 2-33) by nine runs

Courtesy: cricinfo.com

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Group Capt Tendulkar's 1st mission: Flying Sukhoi

Figuratively, he may have "touched the sky with glory" innumerable times. This time, he will literally do it in the most potent supersonic fighter jet in the country's air combat fleet.

From a master-blaster on the cricketing field, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar smoothly made the transition to an "air warrior" on Friday when he was conferred with the honorary rank of Group Captain by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik in the presence of the over 90-year-old Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh.

And the next thing on the agenda of Group Captain Tendulkar, who as a teenager was fascinated by the Tom Cruise-starrer 'Top Gun', is a spin on the twin-seater Sukhoi-30MKI "air dominance" fighter.

"We all want, at some stage, to 'touch the sky with glory'," said Tendulkar, referring to the IAF motto, which epitomises his own life as an iconic cricketer. Tendulkar got his rank, with epaulettes and all on his smart new blue uniform, equivalent to a colonel in the Army, on Friday. After the Sukhoi sortie, "We will also pin the 'wings' on him," said ACM Naik.

Amid all the talk of integrity, dedication and discipline of armed forces, the match-fixing scandal currently rocking the cricketing world was bound to come up. "Integrity is extremely important... we need a clean image. I am sure the ICC will take all the correct steps to ensure this. My job is to stick to cricket and worry about scoring more runs," said Tendulkar.

Asked if mind-boggling sums being offered in T-20 leagues like IPL were making young cricketers more vulnerable to the lure of lucre, Tendulkar said, "The priorities have to be right. The priority is to play cricket in the cleanest way and in the right spirit. When I started playing cricket, it was not about money... If I make more money and less runs, I won't be able to sleep at night." What next for the batting maestro? A Bharat Ratna? "It's the biggest honour. It's the dream of every Indian. Who will not like to get Bharat Ratna," replied Tendulkar.

But that is something for the future. As of now, Tendulkar is thrilled with his new Group Captain rank. "This is a special day. I am extremely proud to be a member of the IAF family," he said. He is also looking forward to the Sukhoi sortie, even though the joyride he had undertaken in an Impala jet trainer of the South African Air Force in 1996 had proved to be "a frightening experience".

" There was restricted space (in the cockpit)... Then, there were instructions about how to eject," he joked.

But he can rest assured that IAF will take all care to ensure he is comfortable in the fourth-generation Sukhoi, with the pilot eschewing hair-raising combat manoeuvres and sticking to a simple cruising flight of just around 1,000-kmph or Mach 1.Read more...

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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