games so far

The size of the audience at the Champions League T20 (CL T20) matches so far has been a bit of a dampener, but that has taken nothing away from the manner in which the teams have gone about their business. The games have by and large been edge of the seat nail-biters with spectacular finishes.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) kicked off the inaugural season of CL T20 against the South African Cape Cobras with a flurry of runs. They posted a competitive score of 180 against the Cape Cobras with Ross Taylor gracing the innings with trademark swishes over mid-wicket. A rejuvenated Robin Uttappa, who had a below par IPL season, played some staggering shots to lift the team to a respectable score. RCB would have fancied their chances at this stage of the game, never suspecting an onslaught from the opposition.

The South African T-20 champions came hard at them. J.P Duminy played a Bevanesque knock that fell one short of a well deserved century. It was stroke-filled and well executed to the point of perfection. The Royal Challengers would have considered themselves favourites with the Cobras having to chase 117 in 70 balls. In a gut wrenching final over, with Duminy clobbering Vinay Kumar for a six, the Cobras sealed the match.

Despite the loss, RCB along with Cape Cobras has managed to graduate to the next level of the tournament by comprehensively beating New Zealand’s Otago Volts.

In this tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL) sides seem to follow each other when it comes to choking in the last couple of overs. The Deccan Chargers (DC) followed suit against the Somerset. After barely managing to put up a formidable score of 157 in the 20 overs, thanks to a cameo by Venugopal Rao and an unusually brisk start from V.V.S Laxman, the Chargers had Somerset on the mat by the 17^th over. With the prospect of an exhilarating finish to the match in the last over, Somerset began with a loss of a wicket. This unfolded into a last ball slog into the boundary by the number ten batsman Alfonso Thomas.

The incapability of the bowling attack to go for the kill must be demoralising for teams like RCB and DC, considering that they lack accomplished stand-bys. The Challengers will have to sacrifice a top order batsman to include Dale Stein to comply with the four-overseas-players-in-a-team rule.

The Deccan Chargers on the other hand are the most skilled bunch on paper yet the most uncoordinated. Their survival will depend on the ferocity of Gilchrist’s form. Between Rohit Sharma’s fluctuating form and Andrew Symonds’ failed sobriety tests, Gilchrist has very few options but to rely on providence.

The teams from India have the faculty to register themselves in the annals of T20 history. It is only want of collective execution that could deny them the crown of champions.