Airtel Champions League T20: South Australia vs. Warriors - Match Preview
Chennai Super Kings have made it to the final of the Airtel Champions League who will now face either the South Australia Redbacks or the Warriors. Both the teams are scheduled to face off each other off in the second semi-final at SuperSport Park, Centurion
today at 15:30 GMT. The Redbacks will have a psychological edge of remaining unbeaten throughout the league stage of the tournament while the Warriors would be desperate to prove their might by thwarting the leading side of both the Groups.
Both teams have progressed to the semis of the CLT20 with a cohesive team effort and one cannot attribute their success to a single player, pair or department. Today’s semi-final game is equally indebted to the rousing leadership of both teams as much as
it does to the contribution of the all-rounders. Michael Klinger's promising performance at the top of the order, which has bagged him three fifties from four innings, and the explosive openings of Davy Jacobs well complemented by some athletic fielding, have
influenced the sides. The efforts of the skippers were duly supported by their middle order batting while the opening seamers have led the bowling departments well.
Saturday’s clash on a traditionally batting-friendly Centurion track would be a battle of spin attacks. Leg-spinner Cullen Bailey and left-arm spinner Aaron O'Brien from South Australia have played a key role in their side’s remarkable performances. However,
at the same time, both spinners have been treated ruthlessly on some occasions. Johan Botha, the right-arm off break-bowler of the Warriors on the other hand, has had a crippling effect on the opposition batting line-up in the middle orders. The accuracy and
the line and length from Botha could be better judged from his economy of 5.31 as compared to Aaron O’Brien’s 9 an over and Cullen Bailey’s 10.33.
When it comes to the batting side for the teams, wicketkeeper batsman Graham Manou’s performance will be a bit of a concern for the Redbacks. Manou has scored 39 runs from four innings at an average of 9.75 and a tournament best of 15.
The middle order for South Australia performed really well against Guyana in the final league game. After an early dismissal of the top order, Callum Ferguson and Cameron Borgas shared a stand of 90 runs for the 4th wicket partnership. So the
Redbacks can expect support from their middle order today as well.
The skipper of South Australia Redbacks, Michael Klinger, is quite hopeful about a successful semi-final game. "Four in four, we're super-confident," said the South Australia captain.
The Warriors have been unchanged throughout the league stages. Barring injury or illness, it is unlikely that they’ll make any changes to their playing XI for the semi-final.
The opening pairs for both sides – Davy Jacobs and Ashwell Prince for the Warriors and Michael Klinger and Daniel Harris for South Australia – have helped their sides amass competitive totals, laying fighting platforms with productive opening stands throughout
the Champions League. Every game has seen one dominant partner giving a prolific performance. Davy Jacobs, the more aggressive of the two, has led the way for the Warriors while Michael Klinger, the more solid of the two openers, has done the same for South
Australia.
There will be some niggling accuracy and variations from Rusty Theron while pace and movement to vie against Shaun Tait. All that the cricket fans would have to wait and see is which of the two pairs will perform on the day.
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