Bangalore v Chennai, CLT2010, 1st semi-final, Durban

South Indian battle in South Africa

Bangalore v Chennai, CLT2010, 1st semi-final, Durban

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran

September 23, 2010

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Match facts

Friday, September 24
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)

	Michael Hussey and M Vijay have given Chennai two solid starts in two matches © AFP Enlarge
Related Links News : Teams pin hopes on seamers Audio/Video: 'More to come from Bangalore' - White Matches: Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Durban Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: Chennai Super Kings | India | Royal Challengers Bangalore

Big Picture

The Champions League Twenty20 may not have the massive following that its more glamorous sibling, the IPL, has but it is clear the players consider it an important tournament. Several incidents highlighted how desperate they are to win it: the dejection on Virat Kohli's face as he sat on his haunches mid-pitch in Durban after a revelatory innings which nearly pulled off a heist against Mumbai Indians; and the ever-smiling Muttiah Muralitharan's broadside at S Badrinath for a less-than-perfect piece of fielding when Warriors were threatening to dump Chennai Super Kings out of the competition.

Perhaps the people happiest with the results over the two days will be the organisers, with two of the IPL teams making it through to the semi-finals and one of them guaranteed a place in the final, ensuring a higher number of eye-balls than if non-Indian teams had qualified.

Chennai have the bragging rights after winning this year's IPL, but Royal Challengers Bangalore can have something to boast about if they upstage MS Dhoni's men on Friday. The two sides have already met in the semi-final of a tournament in South Africa - in the 2009 IPL, when Bangalore eased to a six-wicket victory.

Both have had stop-start league phases, but they will take heart from the fact that their best seasons in the IPL also came after campaigns that started off poorly. Both possess formidable batting line-ups, and their main difference lies in the nature of their bowling attack - Chennai have plenty of spinners, while Bangalore rely heavily on quick bowlers.

The two sides also missed key South African allrounders in their final league matches - Jacques Kallis is out of the tournament with a neck injury, while Albie Morkel has been out for two matches due to an illness. Kallis' absence has upset Bangalore's balance, and Chennai will have even more of an advantage if Morkel recovers from his illness in time.

The overall head-to-head record - Bangalore winning four to Chennai's three - shows how competitive the rivalry between the two sides has been. Friday's semi-final promises to live up to that.

Team news

Chennai packed their bowling with spinners for their match against Warriors in Port Elizabeth, but that strategy might not work in Durban where the track has been less helpful for the slow bowlers. That means they might consider picking one of either L Balaji or Joginder Sharma in place of Shadab Jakati.

Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 S Anirudha, 7 Albie Morkel / Justin Kemp, 8 Doug Bollinger, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 L Balaji/ Joginder Sharma.

Bangalore are unlikely to make too many changes to their line-up that beat Lions on Tuesday. One drawback is that their only recognised spinner is Anil Kumble. They do have Cameron White in the line-up, who once played as a specialist Test legspinner, but he has bowled only one over in Twenty20s in his previous 37 matches.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: (probable) 1 Manish Pandey, 2 Rahul Dravid, 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Cameron White, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 Dillon du Preez, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Anil Kumble (capt), 11 R Vinay Kumar

Watch out for ...

Ross Taylor was a part of three teams which qualified for the Champions League, but he hasn't yet shown the form that has made him such a coveted Twenty20 player. The semi-final presents a chance for the world's leading six-hitter in Twenty20s to make the impact expected of him.

Another big-name player who has had a quiet tournament so far is Dhoni. A late onslaught against Warriors showed glimpses of what he is capable of, but Chennai will be hoping for more from their captain on Friday.

Key contests

Murali v Bangalore middle-order The constricting spin of Murali, bowling from around the stumps and choking the batsman for room, has been effective all tournament. Bangalore, though, possess a bunch of lethal hitters in the middle-order who could prove hard to contain.

Kumars v Chennai openers M Vijay and Michael Hussey have provided Chennai with solid starts in both the matches they have opened together, giving the likes of Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni the license to go for the big hits. Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar could face a stern test.

Quotes

"Your plans have to be very fluid in this format."
Anil Kumble on the key to strategising in Twenty20.

"The spinners have done the job for us so far. Hopefully, on the Durban pitch, the fast bowlers will do well for the team."
MS Dhoni

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, CLT20 2010, Durban

Mumbai prevail in last-ball finish

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

September 19, 2010

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Mumbai Indians 165 for 7 (Tiwary 38*, Steyn 3-26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 163 for 5 (Dravid 71*, Kohli 47, Bravo 2-23) by two runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	The moment that turned the game - Anil Kumble is about to drop Dwayne Bravo © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Analysis : Kumble's scowl and Kohli's agony Players/Officials: Dwayne Bravo | Virat Kohli | Anil Kumble | Saurabh Tiwary Matches: Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Durban Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: India | Mumbai Indians | Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed to have out-thought, out-planned and out-executed Mumbai Indians until Anil Kumble dropped Dwayne Bravo off his own bowling in the 15th over, a catch that would have reduced Mumbai to 86 for 6. Bravo, Saurabh Tiwary and Harbhajan Singh added 79 more to the rest of the innings. Mumbai's bowlers then just about hung in to prevail in a last-ball finish, but their team was knocked out of the tournament.

Rahul Dravid's anchorman 71 off 58, and Virat Kohli's 24-ball 47 that almost deserved to be on the winning side, had brought 40 off 18 down to 13 required off the last over. Zaheer Khan - a former IPL team-mate - began with two superb slower short balls, but he also missed two yorkers by a few inches. Kohli smashed those low full tosses for leg-side boundaries. Three required off the last ball. Another yorker went wrong. Low full toss. Kohli had done it twice, he just needed to repeat it, but the wrists turned a fraction of a second earlier. So hard had he swung, the leading edge kissed the sky and came down.

Ambati Rayudu held his nerve when a drop there would have produced a tie. Zaheer and Rayudu exulted, Kohli went down on his haunches. The man his technique is often compared to, Dravid, stood there, patted his back, consoled him, but it didn't seem to work.

Bangalore, though, will get another chance. Mumbai won't. In fact, the result doesn't change the course of the tournament much. The Bangalore-Lions game still remains a knockout affair. Bangalore need to win to force a three-way tie between themselves, Lions and Mumbai for the second semi-final slot from Group B. Kohli's late hitting, however, has made sure their net run-rate stays the best of the three, while Mumbai's ends worst.

When it comes to the Twenty20 environment, Trinidad & Tobago can improvise on a famous saying, and claim, "If Pollard doesn't get you, Bravo will." Especially when Bravo is dropped when on 1. That big Mumbai finish was exactly what Bangalore were trying to avoid when they held back Dale Steyn through the first 10 overs. As far as Steyn was concerned, he executed the plan perfectly. Charged up, he responded by inflicting a three-ball duck on Kieron Pollard, bowling two overs for five runs and two wickets.

The plan did involve some risk, but the Kumars at Nos. 1 and 2 started its perfect execution. Praveen took Sachin Tendulkar's wicket, Vinay took Rayudu's. Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy then got stuck, going from nowhere to nowhere. They soon fell, setting up the much-awaited contest between Pollard and Steyn.

In came slip and a short leg. Bouncer. Ducked under. Slower ball. Missed. Length ball, extra bounce, leading edge, gone. Soon Kumble had a chance to finish Mumbai off, but he missed a return catch. Bravo thanked Kumble by hitting him for two fours in the same over, and then launching him for two sixes and a four in his next. It was clean hitting with the typical Bravo flourish.

There is a risk of understating the performance from Tiwary, who didn't look intimidated at all, slapped a Steyn bouncer for a flat six, and followed it up with back-to-back fours. A high full toss in the 19th over ended Bravo's 17-ball 29, but that didn't slow Mumbai down as Harbhajan hit three boundaries to finish strongly.

Abu Nechim, the Assam seamer who was playing his first match of the tournament, started the turnaround in the chase, trapping Jacques Kallis lbw with his second ball. He managed to get movement and extra bounce from the lively Kingsmead pitch.

On a night when Lasith Malinga and Zaheer were stable at best, Bravo utilised the conditions best, following Kallis' wicket with those of Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor. When Harbhajan removed Cameron White with a yorker in the 14th over, leaving Dravid and Kohli needing 66 off 37, it seemed the game was over.

Neither batsman is renowned for big hitting, and with Malinga and Zaheer to bowl three overs, big hitting was what was required. Kohli was then to endure a heartbreak. Ironically, though, those three extra runs wouldn't have mattered in the larger picture. Mumbai are still out, Bangalore still need a win.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides Mumbai Indians 45 13 5 36/2 69/2 1/5 Royal Challengers Bangalore 36 18 2 47/1 52/1 0/4

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinf