Champions League Twenty20 Qualifiers – Comprehensive Analysis – Part 1
The qualifying tournament of the Champions League Twenty20 started off with a match between Ruhuna and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 on Monday, September 19, 2011.
Both teams played really well and the fans saw a thrilling game, which the T&T side won by five wickets in the end.
Batting first, the Sri Lankan club was bowled out for 138 runs in their allotted 20 overs. The start of the team was wicketkeeper batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LD-Chandimal-c1831, who top scored the match with 50 runs.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sherwin-Ganga-c90004 from the T&T side took the game away from the opposition with a solid 63-run partnership for the sixth wicket. They remained unbeaten until the end, scoring 44 and 39 runs respectively.
The Caribbean team certainly started as favourites to win the match, but they were given a tough challenge by the Ruhuna team.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ST-Jayasuriya-c2567 opened the innings for the team and was expected to lead the batting line up.
The veteran all-rounder had the support of young Chandimal, who has made his mark at the international arena. The young keeper has scored a couple of impressive centuries in One Day International (ODI) cricket and is a bright prospect for Sri Lankan cricket.
Since the pitch in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hyderabad-c792 was dry and slow, Udawatte opted to bat first after winning the toss in the tournament opener. There were quite a few ups and downs in the Ruhuna innings, but the team managed to score 138 runs in the end.
Jayasuriya was unable to bat longer, as he was dismissed after contributing just 13 runs to the total. He was a touch unfortunate to be given out, as the replays suggested that the umpire made a mistake while ruling him leg-before-wicket.
Chandimal took control of the innings, as he batted sensibly. The stylish right-handed player ended up with 50 runs off 48 deliveries with the help of a couple of fours and the same number of sixes.
Five of Ruhuna’s batsmen got run-out in the innings, which cost the team almost 15-20 runs in the end. The team also had a dismal final over of the innings, losing four wickehttp://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-George-Burrows-c93472s in it.
T&T’s star was medium pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Rampaul-c2233, who picked up two wickets in the match for just 17 runs in his four-over spell.
The Windies club would have been pleased with the performance of their bowlers, but the team was under immense pressure once they came out to bat.
Openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LMP-Simmons-c1843 failed to make an impression and gave their wickets away early in the innings. They ended up with 0 and 3 respectively.
The team’s skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jason-Nazimuddin-Mohammed-c66460 got out for 18 and 17 respectively,
leaving T&T in deep trouble at 81/5.
However, Bravo and Sherwin batted extremely well, turning situation of the game in their favour. Both scored unbeaten 44 and 39 runs in their respective outings, guiding the side to victory with seven balls to spare.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Liyanabadlge-Janaka-Prabath-Gunaratne-c73032 picked up a couple of wickets for his side, but the effort went in vain.
All in all, the spectators enjoyed the competition amongst both sides and the tournament kicked off in style.
Tags: