1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. All set for an exciting Champions League T20

All set for an exciting Champions League T20

October 13, 2012

t20

After their not so memorable outing in the just-concluded ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka, it will be a test of character for the Indian players in the Champions League Twenty20 which enters the business end on Saturday.

There are four Indian Premier League teams in the fray in the cash-rich tournament, including defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and this season’s IPL winner Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The other two IPL sides are former champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Daredvils (DD).

It would be interesting to watch the earnestness of the Indian cricketers, eager to erase the scars of their Super Eight elimination in the ICC World Twenty20.

While KKR and DD have been placed in Group A, the other two are in Group B, raising hopes of an all India clash in the semifinals, as the top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage.

However, in no sense it would be an easy task for the Indian outfits as they will be up against some of the best T20 outfits of the world.


Classy line-ups

And with Titans and Highveld Lions, both from South Africa, enjoying home advantage, the task for the Indian units will be even more cut out.

Apart from the two African teams, the championship also has Australia’s Perth Scorchers, which boasts of players like Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs.

The other Aussie side in fray is Sydney Sixers. With the presence of Shane Watson, along with young pace sensation Mitchell Starc and skipper Brad Haddin in the line-up, the Sixers definitely look a side to be watched out for.

The tournament will also witness Auckland Aces and Yorkshire, both of whom made it to the main draw after topping their respective pools in the just concluded qualifiers.

The Indian challenge will start with a battle between KKR and DD. While the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR would be out there to prove that its victory in the IPL V was no fluke, DD, under Mahela Jayawardene, would like to stamp its authority on the tournament in which it has so far remained an underachiever.


Champion material

Daredevils boasts of some big names like David Warner and Kevin Pietersen in its ranks, and with Virender Sehwag being declared fit, the Delhi side definitely has what it takes to be the champion.

The tournament will also be an opportunity for Sri Lanka's Jayawardene to redeem himself after the loss in the ICC World T20 final. The 35-year-old was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the side after Sehwag opted out to concentrate on his batting.

KKR, on the other hand, possesses a healthy mix of Indian and foreign players. Jacques Kallis and Brendon McCullum have been phenomenal for a team that has done well under Gambhir.

The other Indian franchisees to look out for in the championship are the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK and Harbhajan Sigh-led MI. Both the teams have tasted success in this championship, with CSK winning the 2010 edition and MI lifting the trophy a year later.

The teams:

Group A: Auckland Aces, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Perth Scorchers and Titans.

Group B: Chennai Super Kings, Highveld Lions, Mumbai Indians, Sydney Sixers and Yorkshire.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Veteran cricketer Mithali Raj was on Thursday demoted to Grade B from A in the BCCI central contracts while Radha Yadav and Taniya Bhatia were elevated to the middle bracket.

Mithali not being kept in the Rs 50 lakh category was expected as the 37-year-old retired from T20s in September last year. However, she remains the ODI captain and plans to carry on till the 2021 World Cup.

T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur retained his A category contract alongside Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav.

Radha and Taniya, who both had a Grade C contract worth Rs 10 lakh last year, have now entered Grade B (Rs 30 lakh).

Players getting a central contract for the first time are 15-year-old opener Shafali Verma and Harleen Deol, who like the teenager is an attacking batter.

Shafali has attracted a lot of attention ever since making her India debut last year. She recently made 124 against Australia A in Brisbane. The opener will be expected to deliver in the upcoming T20 World Cup Down Under.

Dropped from the list is Mona Meshram, who was in Grade C last year and hasn't played a single game in recent times.

The latest contracts run from October 2019 to September 2020.

Grade A (Rs 50 lakh): Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav.

Grade B (Rs 30 lakh): Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma.

Grade C (Rs 10 lakh): Veda Krishnamurthy, Punam Raut, Anuja Patil, Mansi Joshi, D Hemlatha, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia, Shafali Verma.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: Australia batsman David Warner on Tuesday decided to shave off his head to show support towards all those people who are working relentlessly on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

After shaving off his head, Warner also challenged his Australian team-mate Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to do the same.

Warner, shared a time-lapse video on Instagram, of him shaving his head, and captioned the post as: "Been nominated to shave my head in support of those working on the frontline #Covid-19 here is a time-lapse. I think my debut was the last time I recall I've done this. Like it or not".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australia's death toll stands at 19, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.

As of 8 am today, 4460 people across Australia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

Earlier in the day, Australia Test skipper Tim Paine also confirmed that the side's tour of Bangladesh is unlikely due to the virus spread.
"You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," cricket.com.au quoted Paine as saying.

Currently, Australia has 296 points in the WTC from 10 matches, while India has 360 points from nine matches.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.