South Indian battle in South Africa
THE Champions League Twenty20 may not have the massive following that its more glamorous sibling, the IPL, has but it is clear the players consider it an important tournament.
Several incidents highlighted how desperate they are to win it: the dejection on Virat Kohli’s face as he sat on his haunches mid-pitch in Durban after a revelatory innings which nearly pulled off a heist against Mumbai Indians; and the ever-smiling Muttiah Muralitharan’s broadside at S Badrinath for a less-than-perfect piece of fielding when Warriors were threatening to dump Chennai Super Kings out of the competition.
Perhaps the people happiest with the results over the two days will be the organisers, with two of the IPL teams making it through to the semi-finals and one of them guaranteed a place in the final, ensuring a higher number of eye-balls than if non-Indian teams had qualified.
Chennai have the bragging rights after winning this year’s IPL, but Royal Challengers Bangalore can have something to boast about if they upstage MS Dhoni’s men today.
The two sides have already met in the semi-final of a tournament in South Africa – in the 2009 IPL, when Bangalore eased to a six-wicket victory.
Both have had stop-start league phases, but they will take heart from the fact that their best seasons in the IPL also came after campaigns that started off poorly.
Both possess formidable batting line-ups, and their main difference lies in the nature of their bowling attack – Chennai’s have plenty of spinners, while Bangalore rely heavily on quick bowlers.
The two sides also missed key South African all-rounders in their final league matches – Jacques Kallis is out of the tournament with a neck injury, while Albie Morkel has been out for two matches due to an illness.
Kallis’ absence has upset Bangalore’s balance, and Chennai will have even more of an advantage if Morkel recovers from his illness in time.
The overall head-to-head record – Bangalore winning four to Chennai’s three – shows how competitive the rivalry between the two sides has been. Today’s semi-final promises to live up to that. (ESPN Cricinfo)