2012 CLT20: Sydney Sixers V Titans – Match Preview
As the latest edition of the Champions League T20 enters its business end, the Group B leaders Sydney Sixers get ready to clash with the second-placed Group A team, Nashua http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Titans-c856 in the second semi-final of the esteemed league, at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, on Friday, October 26, 2012.
The Sixers have had an impressive run in the tournament so far, finishing the group stage unbeaten, with four out of four. The Titans also started the tournament in an emphatic style, scripting comprehensive wins over Scorchers and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils was washed out without a ball being bowled, and must be eager to get back to winning ways and confirm a place in Sunday’s final.
However, going into Friday’s semi-final, both the teams are quite evenly matched in terms of both batting and bowling. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Martin-van-Jaarsveld-c74944 led Titans have a slight edge over the Australian side not only because they will be playing in their home conditions, but they have also played at Centurion before.
After both http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Lumb-c1981 to fire against the hosts and give them a blazing start. However, who will be the right person to open with Lumb is a million dollar question. Peter Nevill and skipper Haddin himself are the two options, and the latter might appoint himself for the job, choosing experience over youth.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dominic-John-Thornely-c54306’s experience, both with the bat and ball, will be crucial in the all important semi-final.
The Australians have a potent pace attack with the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Josh-Reginald-Hazlewood-c69504. The trio has performed exceptionally well in the pace friendly South African conditions so far, and Haddin will expect them to carry the momentum into the knockout stages and finish off the things in a style.
On the other side of the coin, much of Titans’ success has been built on the contributions from the openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jacques-Rudolph-c1619. Whilst the former provided the local outfit with brisk starts, the latter has carried his innings through with some consistent knocks. They need to provide the team with a solid start on Friday night, and hope the remaining pack to fire as well. In their only defeat, against KKR, the openers failed to fire and the rest of the line-up was exposed miserably.
Their bowling was ripped apart by the Kolkata batting line-up, and it could be another big challenge for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ethy-Mbhalati-c1424 for the first time, so he will have a room to exploit the opposition batsmen with his variations. Roelof van der Merwe has been Titan’s pick of the bowlers so far, economy wise, and his spell will also be crucial.
The wicket at Centurion traditionally favours bowlers, especially seamers, so batting could be a deciding factor tomorrow. Role of weather also cannot be neglected. There are 40 percent chances of rain in Centurion on Friday, according to met department’s forecast, and if it rains it would further enhance the bowling friendly nature of the wicket; swing in the air and movement off the pitch would make batting more difficult.
Going by the nature of wicket and the weather conditions, expect a low scoring yet tight contest at SuperSport Park, Centurion tomorrow.
Squads:
Nashua Titans (probable): http://www.senore.com/Cricket/PL-Harris-c2193
Sydney Sixers (probable): MJ Lumb, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JR-Hazlewood-c1743
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