Champions League T20, Season Two

[Ganga]

I did not find any thread regarding the Champions league tournament.So i am starting this thread.Please post everything related to the tournament on this thread.

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JOHANNESBURG: The Champions League Twenty20 tournament got off to a thrilling and surprise start on Friday with local outfit Highveld Lions of South Africa defeating star-studded Mumbai Indians by nine runs.

Chasing 187 for victory after Jonathan Vandiar had topped scored for the Lions with 71, Mumbai looked good for a long time as openers Sachin Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan scored briskly only to fall away at the end.

"We were looking for around 180 runs and it was a good wicket to bat on once you played yourself in. The Lions may be underdogs but we believe in ourselves," boasted official man-of-the-match Vandiar.

Mumbai skipper Tendulkar offered no excuses: "The Lions batted well and we lost wickets at crucial moments. Our bowling and fielding was rusty and we need to pull up our socks quickly."

After South African President Jacob Zumba tossed the coin, Mumbai correctly called "heads" and Spanish megastar Enrique Iglesias had sang the theme song "I like it", the Lions made an impressive 186/5 off 20 overs.

Opener Vandiar led the way at one of the most famous world cricket venues with his runs coming off 48 balls as he mixed aggression and patience in a knock that included three sixes and four fours.

It took two household cricket names to terminate his clever stand with Tendulkar catching a half-volley off the bowling of Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga 16.3 overs into the innings.

Neil McKenzie was the other Lion to roar before a near-full crowd in the 30,000-seat stadium, coming in at number five and finishing unbeaten on 56 off 30 balls with seven fours and a six to lift a sagging innings.

Having cruised to 83 without loss, Mumbai surrendered two wickets while adding just six to their total midway through the innings as opener Shikhar Dhawan exited after amassing 32 and Ambati Rayudu was run out for three.

Tendulkar finally fell after 14.3 overs having scored 69 as he drifted to the leg side only to be clean bowled as Shane Burger sent the stumps flying amid much relief among his team-mates.

Anil Kumble-skippered Royal Challengers Bangalore of India, South Australia Redbacks led by Cullen Bailey and Ramnaresh Sarwan-captained Guyana from the West Indies complete the group with the top two qualifying for the semifinals.
Highveld Lions upset Mumbai Indians in Champions League opener - The Times of India

 

[Ganga]

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Jacob Zuma tossed the coin and Spanish heartthrob Enrique Iglesias sang as the Champions Trophy Twenty20 cricket tournament began at the Wanderers on Friday.

Zuma attended many matches at the World Cup in South Africa and said he was "very happy" that the country was hosting another high-profile sporting event just two months after the climax of the football spectacle.

Iglesias, a son of popular crooner Julio, thrilled the ever-increasing crowd in an expected sell-out 30,000 crowd with tournament theme song "I like it" as dusk set over the South African financial hub.

India batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar gave his stamp of approval to the shortest version of the game in a pre-match interview at one of the most famous cricket venues in the world.

"It is a fabulous experience for all of us. I am really looking forward to the Champions League because the top cricket franchises in the world are in South Africa," said the "little master".

The opening match pitted local franchise Highveld Lions against a Mumbai Indians team led by Tenduklar and cool, overcast weather greeted the teams for the encounter.

Tendulkar won the toss and opted to field first in a game his team were favoured to win in a 17-day tournament offering a two-million-dollar first prize.

Mumbai and Lions will battle for Group B glory with Anil Kumble-led Royal Challengers Bangalore of India, South Australia Redbacks skippered by Cullen Bailey and Ramnaresh Sarwan-captained Guyana from the West Indies.

Group A includes Mahendra Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings of India, Eastern Cape Warriors of South Africa captained by Davy Jacobs, David Hussey-skippered Victoria Bushrangers of Australia, Wayamba Elevens of Sri Lanka guided by Jehan Mubarak and Adam Milne-led Central Stags of New Zealand.

Pakistan Cricket Board officials reportedly refused to allow T20 champions Sialkot Stallions to compete in retaliation for Indian governing body BCCI barring Pakistani cricketers from the lucrative IPL tournament.

England are the other major cricket nation not represented as their season is ongoing and Champions League organisers refused to alter the schedule to a later date which would have allowed Somerset and Hampshire to take part.

Zuma, Iglesias start Champions League show - The Times of India

 

[Masterchief]

yesterdys match was thrilling, but we could have a pakistani club too, battling alongsides with other teams for supremacy.

 

[prototype]

^^even if Pakistan was playing,their is no chance they have enjoyed it regarding the current controversy that have hit Pakistani cricket

 

[Ganga]

yesterdys match was thrilling, but we could have a pakistani club too, battling alongsides with other teams for supremacy.

You should tell that to the PCB officials.CL unlike IPL is not an Indian league.It was started in India by an Indian but it has a global nature.

 

[Ganga]

Port Elizabeth: Mark Boucher led a solid batting display with a sparkling 26-ball unbeaten 40 as Warriors spank Wayamba by seven wickets in a Champions League Twenty20 match on Saturday.

Chasing a modest 154 for a win, the Warriors were never in trouble as they were nicely placed at 93 for three in the 11th over before wicketkeeper-batsman Boucher and Justin Kreusch (37 not out) took them to a comfortable win with 10 balls remaining.

The duo shared a 63-run stand for the unconquered fourth wicket from 44 balls. Boucher, who played for Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League, struck four fours and two sixes during his 26-ball stay while Kreusch hit three fours in his 29-ball innings.

Boucher smashed two sixes and a four in three successive balls in the 14th over off leg-spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi who was playing for Sri Lanka national team till 2007. Kreusch hit the winning runs - a four off Chanaka Welegedara - to take the home side to 156 for three in 18.2 overs.

Opener and captain Davey Jacobs contributed 26 while one down Colin Ingram chipped in with a solid 28-ball 34 at a lively St Georges' Park pitch. Warriors, the South African Twenty20 champions, made a flying start in their run chase though they lost opener Ashwell Prince in the third over.

They scored at a brisk rate with Jacobs and Ingram taking the Wayamba bowlers to task notching their 50 runs in the sixth over. For Sri Lanka, Chanaka Welegedara, Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis took a wicket apiece.

The trio bowled well but the other three bowlers Farveez Maharoof, Thisara Perera and Lokuarachchi were expensive. Earlier, opener Jeevantha Kulatunga struck a strokeful 59 to help Wayamba reach 153 for nine after the Sri Lankan champion side were reduced to 50 for three in the ninth over after electing to bat.
Boucher leads Warriors to easy win over Wayamba - Yahoo! Cricket

 

[Ganga]

Durban: Subramaniam Badrinath struck an unbeaten 52 to save the batting blushes before a disciplined effort by the bowlers as Chennai Super Kings spank Central Districts by 57 runs in a Champions League Twenty20 match. Badrinath's counterattacking 52 from 42 balls was mainly responsible for CSK reaching 151 for four after they were down five for two in the second over and 48 for three at halfway mark after electing to bat.

He got ample support from Srikkanth Anirudha (42) and the duo shared 73 runs from 49 balls for the fourth wicket to take CSK score past 150 on a spongy Kingsmead pitch which saw odd balls kicking up to trouble the batsmen. Later CSK bowlers complemented the good work done by their batsmen by skittling out Central Districts for 94 in 18.1 overs to start their campaign on a winning note.

Chasing 152 for a win, the New Zealand champion side initially looked like they would stand up for a challenge but after they lost their first wicket in the fourth over they were never in the chase. Pacer Laxmipathy Balaji was the most successful CSK bowler with three for 20 from his four overs while Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Doug Bollinger claiming a wicket apiece.

Opener Peter Ingram was the first Central Districts batsman to go in the fourth over for six as he top-edged an Albie Morkel delivery to Suresh Raina at cover at team score of 12 for one. He was earlier dropped while on one in the second ball of their innings by Ravichandran Ashwin.

Next over, George Worker fell to Balaji for four and at team score of 22 for two with Muralitharan taking an easy catch at mid-on. CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni introduced off-spinner Ashwin in the sixth over and got the result immediately in the form of Jamie How's wicket.

The captain of the New Zealand champion side, who was dropped by Raina when on five, misread a delivery which straightened up before cleaning up his off-stump. Central Districts were reeling at 35 for three at that stage.

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muralitharan then claimed two wickets in the space of three balls to leave Central Districts run chase in tatters as they were reduced to 37 for five in the eighth over. Mathew Sinclair (10), who hit Ashwin for a six in his first delivery, followed suit his captain soon as he fell to a superb catch by Matthew Hayden at slip while attempting a reverse sweep off a Muralitharan delivery.

Muralitharan, who recently retired from Test cricket, scalped his second wicket two balls later with Noema-Barnettas (0) edging a sharp turning delivery for Dhoni to take a fine catch behind the stumps.
Chennai Super Kings beat Central Stags by 57 runs - Yahoo! Cricket

 

[Paan Singh]

i bet on chennai for ipl teams

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Chennai won yesterday!

Hope this time around IPL team wins this competition.

 

[SpArK]

waiting for dale steyn to ripp apart the opposition..

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

So CSK v RCB and Warriors v Redbacks.

I think it will be CSK v Redbacks final.

 

[SpArK]

Dhoni's Chennai seek victory for one last time

Match facts
Sunday, September 26
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)

The Champions League final will be this Chennai outfit's last competitive game ahead of the IPL player auction in November ©
Teams: Chennai Super Kings | India | South Africa | Warriors


Big Picture


It's tempting to bill the final as the clash of captains: Davy Jacobs v MS Dhoni. It makes sense too. Jacobs is an interesting character. He's extremely driven and has always wanted captaincy. He thinks it's his destiny to lead this Warriors side. They hadn't won a thing for 18 years until he came along. It's his team. It's his passion, his life. And he is a fiercely ambitious young man.
Jacobs hasn't played a game for South Africa yet but, when asked what his plans are, he said he would like to be the vice-captain to Johan Botha in the Twenty20 international team. And there was no trace of arrogance. He said it as though it was a given and, in his mind, it is. A couple of days ago South Africa's Test, ODI and Twenty20 sides were selected for the home series against Zimbabwe and the tour of the UAE. Jacobs wasn't in them. Rest assured, he won't stop busting his gut till he gets in. He's that kind of a man.

Tonight, after the successful semi-final, he said: "The team that wants it more will win tomorrow." This is where this gets complicated.

If this was just another final, it would not be far-fetched to say that Jacobs desires victory more than Dhoni does. But it's not just another final. It's the last time that this group of players will play together for Chennai and Dhoni has said he wants a perfect farewell. "Emotionally we are quite attached but unfortunately we won't be able to retain the same team. We want to do well as this is the last tournament. The way we have gelled in the last three years [is great]."

Dhoni's leadership has its share of admirers. He tries to ensure that he appears calm in the middle, he knows his teams' weaknesses, he definitely knows its strengths and, like most successful captains, he gets his share of luck.

It will perhaps come down to the pitch then. Jacobs said the Wanderers track will offer pace and bounce and he expects Makhaya Ntini to fire on the big day. But things even out. Dhoni has Doug Bollinger and Albie Morkel, who returned from injury and produced an excellent spell against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The edge in the seam attack will be with Chennai if Morkel can reprise that semi-final performance. He has often failed to be consistent in the Twenty20 format. Chennai's spin attack comprises Muttiah Muralitharan and R Ashwin, Warriors have Nicky Boje and Johan Botha. Advantage Chennai?

And so we come to the batting. Chennai didn't have to face the pace of Dale Steyn in the last game and ended up with a massive total. Can Ntini and co strike fear in their camp? But Chennai do bat deep, at least deeper than Warriors. It's difficult to pick a winner.
Team news
Both teams don't have any injury problems and are likely to go with unchanged sides.

Chennai(probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 S Anirudha, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Doug Bollinger, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 L Balaji

Warriors (probable): 1 Davy Jacobs (capt), 2 Ashwell Prince, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 Justin Kreusch, 5 Mark Boucher (wk), 6 Craig Thyssen, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Nicky Boje, 9 Rusty Theron, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Watch out for ...
Ashwell Prince has been almost anonymous but he can be the guy who turns it on for Warriors in the final. He is the man who walked up his coach last year and said he wanted to open. He starred in the final of both the Pro20 and Pro-40 tournaments. While the attention will be on the explosive Jacobs, it might be Prince who performs the jailbreak against Chennai. His coach Russell Domingo says he has not seen a more determined cricketer than Prince. "He is calm and brings so much stability to this youthful team."
Albie Morkel can make or break the game tomorrow. He bowled a fast spell in the last game during which he troubled Bangalore with seam movement and bounce. But Morkel's game can also disintegrate quickly. He is far from consistent and his contest with the Warriors' openers could decide the game.

Quotes
"Nicky Boje has a couple of ODI tons as an opener. And Botha can bat. So I am not worried that Botha is at No 6. It has worked for us so far."

 

[SpArK]

Chennai super kings lifts Champions trophy title​

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---------- Post added at 11:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 PM ----------

Warriors 128/7 (20/20 ov)
Chennai Super Kings 132/2 (19.0/20 ov)

 

[SpArK]

 

[SpArK]