Ruhuna v Trinidad & Tobago – Champions LeagueT20 qualifier – Match Preview
The start of the Champions LeagueT20 takes place today September 19, 2011, with Ruhuna and Trinidad & Tobago locking horns in the first qualifier of the competition.
The respective Sri Lankan and Caribbean domestic sides are locked in Pool A, which also has an http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Leicestershire-c807 Foxes.
The first match is a significant test for both sides, as it will also give the winning team an important edge in their bid to qualify for the tournament.
The Caribbean outfit will surely start as favorites due to their past experience in the tournament, and also because they have a number of International stars featuring for them.
After an impressive debut in 2009, which led them to reach the finals of the competition, they failed to qualify for 2010. However, they will hope to bring back flare and charisma with their flamboyant game play.
Captained by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Rampaul-c2233.
Everyone has performed well in their domestic competition, which led the side to claim the T20 title back in their country. Despite being deprived of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians, they still possess a potent enough squad.
Back in 2009, Pollard was their highest run getter, however, with him not on board, the team would look to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/William-Keith-Donald-Perkins-c97489, their second top-scorer, and especially Darren Bravo.
The left-hander will be vying to impress in his outings and get under the radar for next year’s Indian Premier League. He averaged 48 in the Caribbean T20 and the team will count on him to deliver.
The bowling trio of Rampaul, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJ-Bravo-c1379 (playing for Chennai Super Kings), who was their leading wicket-taker in the first edition of CLT20.
For their opponents, Ruhuna, it will be their first berth in the competition and despite not having a star studded line-up, they still possess a good blend of youngsters, hoping to prove their mettle.
They will count on veteran, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ST-Jayasuriya-c2567 to give them a good start upfront even though the left-hander has retired from International Cricket earlier in the year, and spends most of his time in the commentary box.
Apart from that, only http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, the team will surely bank on their talented youngsters to deliver them with the goods.
They won the revised Sri Lankan Cricket Inter-Provincial T20 Tournament, which after much hype, contained only representatives from their own country.
The qualifiers will be staged in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-George-Burrows-c93472her side.
T&T possess a good mix of spinners; however, their Lankan opponents are good players of slow bowling, so a tough contest is on the cards.
A great spectacle is on offer with the match scheduled to begin at 16:00 local time.
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