Indian Win At The Biggest Stage as CSK clinch title

Toss: Warriors, chose to bat

Venue: New Wanderers Stadium, Johanesburg

Pitch Report: Dry and hard, but will be good for the team batting first. Runs will be easy to come by for the team batting first.

Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings got a chance to get their hands on another trophy, after winning the third edition of the Indian Premier League, and they grabbed it. In the final against the South African outfit, Chevrolet Warriors, Chennai Super Kings emerged on top and much to their fans' delight, won the Champions' League T20.

Chasing a meagre 129 thanks to a splendid bowling performance, Chennai didn't take too many risks and eased their way to the target in 19 overs and won the game by 8 wickets. Openers, Murali Vijay and Mike Hussey played sensible knocks and put on 103 off 15 overs. Semi-final hero Suresh Raina could not last long as he was dismissed in the next over. But this is how far the Warriors could get as Dhoni came in and got to the target in the 19th over along with Mr.Cricket, Mike Hussey.

Earlier electing to bat, the Warriors started aggressively but lost both their openers early. Ashwell Prince and captain Davey Jacobs in the 4th and the 6th over respectively. Warriors began to lose the plot as they lost their third wicket in the 11th over.

Spin wizard, Muralitharan bowled a magical spell as he ran through the middle order of the Warriors, dismissing Kreuch, Thyseen and Mark Boucher and reduced the Warriors to 128 for 7 in 20 overs.

Chennai's standout performance should be credited to their brilliant bowling performance that brought them Champions' League glory. The Warriors, who played very well throughout would have felt a little hard done by their performance in the final. Nevertheless, a lot of unknown players will now be seen on both the International and local scenario.

Turning Point: The Warriors' poor batting display and aggressive gameplay by CSK was what pushed the game in CSK's favour. Warriors never looked to be in the contest as they succumbed to a low total.

The Hero: Spinner Muthiah Muralitharan bowled the Warriors away with a spell of 16 for 3 in his spell of 4 overs.

So with that, this big tournament comes to an end and fans back in India can rejoice for long as an Indian team has triumphed on the biggest T20 stage.

Scorecard: Chennai Super Kings 132 for 2 (Vijay 58, Hussey 51*) Warriors 128 (Murali 3-16, Ashwin 2-16) by 8 wickets

Mediocre Bowling Lets Mumbai Down, Warriors win second

Toss: Mumbai, elected to bat.

Venue: Kingsmead, Durban

Pitch Report: In warm Durban conditions, the pacers will have trouble trying to generate movement on the ball, though they can get some good bounce. Spinners will come in handy as there won't be any moisture.

In a crucial game with respect to the semi-finals berth, the Mumbai Indians were beaten by the South Australian Red backs inspite of scoring a good 180. With the middle order coming to Mumbai's rescue, they managed to post a huge 180 but their bowlers, each of who would be regarded as quality bowlers on any other day, ran out of steam and could not defend the total.

Chasing 181, the Redbacks had a good start with openers slowly settling in on the wicket and not trying to play rash shots. Inspite of starting slow, captain Michael Klinger and his opening partner Daniel Harris played sensible cricket, waiting for the odd bad ball to get some extra runs. They put on a 100 for the first wicket in just 12.3 overs and made sure the game was still in the balance.

But, in the next over Harris gave an easy catch to JP Duminy at extra cover after a well made 56 off 37 balls, a knock that included four boundaries and three big sixes. In a span of six balls, Mumbai struck again as Klinger tried to clear the long-on off a Malinga delivery, only to find Pollard. At 116-2, Mumbai were enroute a come back.

Mumbai took two more quick wickets in the next two overs, sending Graham Manou and Callum Ferguson back to the pavillion with the score at 140-4 off 17 overs. Out came Cameron Borgas to join Daniel Christian, with the team needing 41 runs off the remaining 3 overs.

The 18th over,by Dwayne Bravo can very well be called the game turner, as Christian and Borgas belted Bravo for 16 runs in the over. Suddenly, the Redbacks were back in the game, needing 25 off the remaining 12.

The senior pro Zaheer bowled the next over, and got rid of Christian, who hit it straight to Tiwary at long-on. But, even Zaheer couldn't pull too much back as Borgas hit him for a boundary and the new batsman Tom Cooper played a cheeky scoop that went for a six.

14 runs came off the over and the Redbacks needed 11 of the last over.

Having exhausted the quota of his strike bowlers and Pollard being hit for 16 in the only over he bowled, Sachin had to throw the ball to Harbhajan. Harbhajan could not restrict the Redbacks as a flighted delivery from him, in the second ball of the over, was hit for a huge six by Cooper. The Redbacks had made the come back of the tournament, now needing 3 off the next 4. Changes in the field didn't help as Harbhajan bowled a horrendous full toss and Cooper dispatched it for a boundary to give Redbacks their second victory of the tournament.

Earlier electing to bat, Mumbai Indians seemed off colour, as Shikhar Dhawan was caught behind in the very first over .Captain Sachin Tendulkar also seemed unsettled in the begining, as he chased deliveries wide of the stumps. He soon came back and belted Daniel Christian for 14 runs, with two boundaries and a six. But in the very next over, Aaron O' Brien cleaned him up as he danced down the track, looking to clear the ground and missed it completely. A rare sight indeed.

Rayudu, who initially struggled to cope with the bounce but did manage to settle in and made a useful while JP Duminy failed as he fell after scoring a paltry 3. Rayudu fell in the 13th over and the Mumbai Indians were reduced to 79-4.

Pollard and Tiwary then did the resuce work as they put on 58 runs in the next 4 overs. Tiwary was dismissed in the 17th over with the score at 137-5. The next man in, Dwayne Bravo along with Pollard put on 33 off the next 3 overs and ensured a big total in the form of 180 which initially seemed good but turned out to be gettable and the Redbacks did just that.

Turning Point: The opening partnership between Michael Klinger and Daniel Harris put Mumbai on the backfoot from the start of the Redbacks' batting. They put on a vital 112 runs partnership in the first 13 overs to make sure they still are in the game.

The Hero : Daniel Harris, for his 56 off 37 deliveries that set the pace of the Redbacks innings.

The Redbacks can rejoice as their semi-finals berth is looking easier to achieve now but the Mumbai camp have a lot to worry about. After two straight defeats, as difficult as it may be, they have to pick themselves up and try to win their remaining games and hope for the best.

Mumbai Indians v/s South Australian Redbacks- Preview

Mumbai Indians and the South Australian Redbacks take on each other today, in their second game of the tournament.

Mumbai will be looking to play to their potential and register a win and disturb the points table a little. Sachin Tendulkar led team will go in without Dhaval Kulkarni, who injured his back in the team's first outing. Abhishek Nayar replaces him in the squad. Not having performed too badly in the first game, the Mumbai Indians will look to bowl a little better that they did against the Lions and try to restrict the opposition to a lower total and also would try and bat deep and finish games even from tough situations. Like always, Sachin will be the focal point of this team. He has to inspire his youngsters to come good and take his team home.

As for the Redbacks, they will also look up to their in-form captain Michael Klinger, who had a pleasant outing against the Lions. The bowling department will be tested in this game, with Mumbai Indians having a good batting line-up with Sachin up front. His wicket will be the prime focus for the Redbacks.

With the Redbacks looking to continue their success and Mumbai looking to get off the mark in the tournament, we are surely in for an exciting match.

Probable XI

South Australian Redbacks	Mumbai Indians
Daniel Harris	Sachin Tendulkar (Captain)
Michael Klinger (Captain)	A.T.Rayudu (Wicket Keeper)
Shaun Tait	Abhishek Nayar
Callum Ferguson	JP Duminy
T.Christian	Keiron Pollard
Graham Manou	Rajagopal Satish
Cameron Borgas	Harbhajan Singh
Gary Putland	Zaheer Khan
Aaron O’Brien	Ali Murtuza
Cullen Bailey	Lasith Malinga
W.Cooper	Ryan McClaren

Captain, Bowlers help Warriors beat Bushrangers

Toss: Warriors, Elected to bat.

Venue: St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth

Pitch Report: It is a pitch where the quick bowlers might not get too much of help but there is something in it for the spinners.

Captain, David Jacobs does it again for the Warriors as his breezy half century helps Warriors beat the Victoria Bushrangers.

Chasing a total of 159 in their first outing, the Bushrangers fell short of the total by 28 runs and lost their first outing in this year's Champions' League.

Needing to score 8 runs an over, the Bushrangers staggered at the start as they lost both their openers, Quiney and Hodge, within the powerplay. Finch, who came in at number three, was looking good until he also perished in the 9th over when captain David Jacobs took a splendid catch at extra cover. The Bushrangers were struggling at 59-3 off 9 overs.

David Hussey and McDonald put on a slow but an important partnership of 35 off the next 5 overs before Kreusch cleaned up the big man David Hussey with a neat yorker. Bushrangers struggling at 94-4 off 14 overs needing 65 off the next 6 overs.

Theron struck twice in the next over and Bushrangers were further pushed into their miseries as both McDonald and Wade were dismissed. The total now was looking out of reach as the Bushrangers struggled at 96-6 off 15 overs needing 63 runs off the remaining 5.

Tsotsobe struck in the very next over and cleaned up Maxwell, leaving the Bushrangers at 100-7, needing 59 runs off 24 balls. Wickets continued to tumble as McKay and Hastings fell in the next two overs.

Nannes and Harwood stood ground till the end of 20th over and Bushrangers were 28 runs short off the Warriors' total, who were surely deserving winners.

Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, the Warriors were straightaway into the groove as captain David Jacobs belted the quick bowlers all around the park and was scoring at a healthy 9 runs an over. Ashwell Prince on the other end of the wicket, gave him a good stand.

At 81-0 in the 9th over, the Bushrangers got a lucky break as a mix-up between the batsmen led to the runout of the in-form Jacobs. From then on the Bushrangers began to pull things back as they got the wicket of Ashwell Prince in the very next over.

Mark Boucher and Johan Botha put on an important partnership of 40 runs of just 4.4 overs and took the team's total to 158.

Turning Point : The Bushrangers did not have the start they would have wanted as they chased 158, but the wicket of David Hussey was the turning point as on his day, the big man can turn games on its head.

The Hero: Inspite of an important knock from the captain David Jacobs, it was the bowling department of the Warriors that made the bigger impact, each of who were amongst the wickets. Special mention for Juan Theron, who continues his dream run, this time taking 3 for 22 in his quota of 4 overs.

The Warriors are truly now a force to reckon and they will be pumped up and eager to get onto the field again as soon as they can. As for the Bushrangers, they will be looking to rectify their batting woes and come out stronger in their next outing.

Man Of The Match: David Jacobs, for his breezy half century that set the tone of the Warriors' innings.

Scorecard: Warriors 158 for 6 (Jacobs 59, Boucher 31, McDonald 2-22, Nannes 1-25, McKay 1-27) beat Victoria 130 for 9 (Hussey 29, Theron 3-22, Ntini 2-33) by 28 runs

Warriors v/s Victoria Bushrangers - Preview

One of the big favourites of winning the tournament, Victoria Bushrangers, take on the Warriors today.

The Warriors, riding high on their success against the Wayambe Eleven, will look to out do the Australian giants and take a strong step forward in the tournament. On the other end, the Bushrangers will come out hard on their opponents as they look to perform better than they did in the last year's edition of the Champions' League.

The Warriors will probably go in with an unchanged side, and look to do nothing different from what they did in their previous outing and will rely on their pace attack, with the likes of Juan Theron, Tsotsobe and Ntini all being among the wicket takers. Also, if spin comes into play, Johan Botha will hold a key role. In the batting department, they will need the top-order to fire, with Boucher fitting into the finisher's role.

As for the Bushrangers, captain David Hussey will look to lead his ranks from the front alongside the likes of Brad Hodge and Aaron Finch, both of who showed great promise in the Australian domestic season. With a lot of bowling options in their behest, the Bushrangers are looking like a well balanced team with bowlers like Peter Siddle, Andrew McDonald , Dirk Nannes and Clinton McKay.

Both teams well equipped in their bowling department, one will expect the team that bowls better to win. It will be rare and yet an exciting site in a T20 scenario.

Probable XI:

Warriors	Victoria Bushrangers
David Jacobs (Captain And WicketKeeper)	David Hussey(Captain)
Ashwell Prince	Brad Hodge
Johan Botha	Peter Siddle
Juan Theron	Clinton McKay
Makhaya Ntini	Dirk Nannes
Lonwabo Tsotsobe	Andrew McDonald
Mark Boucher	Aaron Finch
Craig Thyssen	Rob Quiney
Colin Ingram	Mathew Wade (Wicket Keeper)
Nicky Boje	Glenn Maxwell
Justin Kreusch	Shane Harwood

South Australia Redbacks Tame Highveld Lions

Toss : Lions, Elected to field.

Venue : Supersport Park, Centurion

Pitch Report : A bit on the slower side with a hint of grass all along the pitch. The pacers will not get too much assisstance from the pitch although there is something in it for the spinners.

In their second outing of the tournament, the Highveld Lions could not repeat their first game's performance and lost to the South Australia Redbacks by just 11 runs.

Chasing a stiff total of 179, the Lions had a rocky start as their previous game's hero, Jonathan Vandiar, dragged one back onto his stumps in the very first over of the game giving Tait his first scalp in the match.

Despite a poor start, captain Alviro Peterson kept his cool and played a good innings, keeping the runrate at around the required one and hence, keeping the hopes of a second victory alive.

Sadly for him, he couldn't get much support at the other end as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. At the score of 109 in the 13th over, Peterson was trapped leg before by an inswinger from Daniel Christian after scoring a good 56 off 35 balls.

Needing 58 from the next six overs, the batsmen began to throw their bat around and in the process the wickets continued to tumble. The gap between the runs required and the balls remaining and the pressure kept mounting on the Lions. A shimmer of hope came about in the 19th over, when Frylinck tonked Tait for two big sixes in the first five balls but Tait made a comeback with a wicket shattering yorker to leave the Lions needing 19 off the last over, which eventually went for just 8 runs.

Earlier, put into bat, captain Michael Klinger led from the front with a blistering knock of 78 off just 48 balls that included six boundaries and five sixes. Coming in at number four, Callum Ferguson consolidated on the brilliant start and scored a quickfire 47 off just 27 balls to take his team to a total of 178.

Turning Point : If the Lions' ever looked to be in the chase, then it was thanks to their captain Alviro Peterson. His wicket in the 13th over was crucial as it gave the Redbacks a chance to get a firm hold of the game which they managed to do.

The Hero: The winning team captain, Michael Klinger for setting the tone of the Redbacks' innings by scoring 78 off just 48 balls.

Scorecard: South Australia Redbacks 178 for 7 (Klinger 78, Ferguson 47) beat Lions 167 for 8 (Petersen 56, Tait 3-36) by 11 runs.

Highveld Lions v/s South Australian Redbacks - Preview

After a successful outing on day one, the Highveld Lions take on the South Australian Redbacks in game four of the tournment.

The Lions are brimming with confidence after beating a team like Mumbai Indians in their very first game and are sure to carry this confidence forward into today's match. The Redbacks begin their campaign today and will be wary of their local opponent.

The Lions will bank on their in-form young opener Vandiar to take charge of the innings upfront. They would also want to keep up their agility and discipline on the field in order to win their second game in a row.

On the other hand, Redbacks must've done their homework and devised their strategies after watching the Friday's game that the Lions won.

The Redbacks will look to unleash Tait and his raw pace with the intention to rattle the top order which did seem a little shaky apart from Vandiar. In the batting department, the team will look up to their captain, Michael Klinger and the consistent Cameron Borgas.

With both teams being strong in their bowling department, expect a lot of wickets to fall. High scoring or not, the game still promises to be an entertaining one.

Probable XI

South Australian Redbacks	Highveld Lions
Michael Klinger (Captain)	J.Vandiar
Cameron Borgas	A.Peterson (Captain)
Shaun Tait	R.Cameron
Aaron O’Brien	V.Vans Jaarsveld
Callum Ferguson	N.McKenzie
Daniel Harris	R.Frylinck
Cullen Bailey	Z. De Bruyn
Graham Manou	L.Tsolekile
Peter George	S.Burger
Gary Putland	E.O’Reilly
Jake Huberfield	M. Phangiso

Superkings Crush Hapless Stag

Toss: Chennai SuperKings, Elected to bat first

Venue: Kingsmead, Durban

Pitch Report: The wicket continued to be dry in the second game as well but with the lights coming into play in the second half of the match, things could sway in favour of the team batting second.

The Chennai SuperKings thrashed the Jamie How-led Central Stag by bowling them out for a meagre 94 after setting a modest target of 152.

On a bouncy wicket that even had a bit of turn, Dhoni and his men made merry as they bundled out the Central Stag for a low total and started with a 57 run victory.

Inspite of restricting the Superkings to 152, the Central Stag never looked to be in the chase as their batting could not complement their bowling efforts and they fell rather cheaply.

Dhoni rotated his bowlers well as Albie Morkel and L.Balaji got early breakthroughs , reducing the Stags to 22-2 in 4 overs. The spin-duo of Muralitharan and R.Ashwin made further inroads and got rid of captain Jamie How, Brandon Diamanti, Mathew Sinclair and K.N.Barnett with the score at 45-6 from 11 overs. The Stags were staring at a huge defeat as they needed 107 runs from the remaining 9 overs with just 4 wickets in hand.

Doug Bracewell came in as the number 8 batsman and tried to get some runs on the board but did not have batsmen to support him at the other end. Eventually, he was dismissed in the 18th over after being the team's top scorer with 30 runs off 28 balls. L.Balaji and D.Bollinger then got rid of the last two batsmen and secured the team's first win in this competition. A comprehensive one that too.

Earlier, electing to bat first, the Superkings were rocked by the dismissal of Mathew Hayden in the very first over, with S.Raina following suit in the very next over leaving them at 5-2 in 2 overs. Murali Vijay couldn't last too long either as he also perished in the 9th over with the score at 40.

The Indian duo of S.Badrinath and S.Anirudha came to the centre and took charge of their teams batting and held a partnership of 73 runs in the next 8 overs. In the 17th over, Anirudha gave away his wicket after scoring a quickfire 42 off just 29 balls which had 5 fours and 1 brilliant inside-out shot for a six.

Towards the end there were more fireworks, as Albie Morkel did what he does rather too often, slogging. He scored 26 off just 15 deliveries with 2 massive sixes and 1 boundary and took his team's total to a respectable 152 which was enough for them to defend.

Turning Point : The batting display by the Central Stag. After a very good bowling performance to restrict the opposition to 152, their batting was a big let down. They seemed to struggle from the very first over and never looked like they could pull this match off.

The Hero : The Indian youngster, S.Badrinath for his

rescue acts by guiding his team out of the clutches of a low total, scoring a pivotial halfcentury.

Chennai will be high on confidence and Dhoni will be hoping his team will take this form into their next game as well. As for the Central Stag, they have a lot of homework to do before they hit the field again in this tournament. Their bowling has been bang on target but their batting seems to be a big concern. Lets just hope they come out stronger in their next match.

Scorecard :Chennai 151 for 4 (Badrinath 52*, Anirudha 42, Bracewell 2-28) beat Central Districts 94 (Bracewell 30, Balaji 3-20, Bollinger 2-10, Muralitharan 2-15, Ashwin 2-28) by 57 runs

Pictures Courtesy: Cricinfo

Warriors Seal Easy Win Over Wayamba Elevens

Toss: Wayambe, Choose to bat

Venue: Kingsmead, Durban

Pitch Report: On a sunny day and a dry wicket, Jehan Mubarak of the Wayamba Elevens did not hesitate a bit to bat first after winning the toss. Like Ravi Shastri says, the pitch at Kingsmead Durban is a batsman's Paradise.

Mark Boucher-inspired Warriors chased down an almost challenging total of 153, to beat the Wayamba Elevens by seven wickets and register their first win in this year's Champions' League.

Chasing 153, The Warriors started well and made sure they were ahead of the required run rate at every point of time. Although, the Wayamba bowlers struck thrice in the first 11 overs, the runs never stopped coming for the Warriors. The game was all but over in the 14th over, when the muscular Mark Boucher hit Lokuarachichi for 21 runs, including two big sixes and a boundary. Steering clear off the required rate, Warriors eventually finished the game with ease with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, electing to bat, Wayamba were immediately on the back foot, as Juan Theron got the dangerous Jayawardhane for a blob. In the same over, Theron went onto dismiss the number three batsman, Udawatte and Wayambe were struggling at 2-2.

The other opener, Kulatunga along with captain Mubarak, who majorly gave a stand at the other end of the wicket, began to straighten the innings and scored at a decent rate before Mubarak hit one straight down the Long Off fielder's throat in the 9th over.

In came Perera, who played an important knock of 39 and gave Kulatunga some support till the 15th over when Kulatunga mistimed a lofted shot and perished. The score then stood at 110-3.

From then on it was bits and pieces scoring from the lower middle-order and a good performance on the field from the Warriors restricted Wayamba to 153.

Turning Point : Inspite of it being a pretty low total, the game was still an open one till the 13th over when Warriors required 54 off the next 42 balls. Mark Boucher turned the game in their favour by scoring 21 runs in the next 6 deliveries and eventually won the game with 10 balls to spare.

The Hero: It gives me great happiness as I type in a bowler's name as the hero of the match.The local lad, Juan Theron, for his bowling figures of 3 for 23 from his quota of 4 overs, picking up important wickets of Jayawardhane, Udawatte and Perera thus, making sure to keep Wayambe away from a big total.

Man Of The Match : Juan Theron of the Warriors, for his disciplined bowling figures of 3 for 23 from 4 overs.

Scorecard :Warriors 156 for 3 (Boucher 40*, Kreusch 37*, Ingram 34) beat Wayamba 153 for 9 (Kulatunga 59, Kushal Perera 39, Theron 3-23) by seven wickets.

Pictures Courtesy: Cricinfo

Chennai Super Kings V/s Central Stag- Preview

In the second game of the day, Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings take on the Newzealand county, Central Stag captained by Jamie How. Dhoni's men come into this tournament as the champions of the third edition of the IPL and the crowd back here have great expectations from the team.

The performance of the Central Stag, will depend hugely on the lesser known players like Brandon Diamanti, who is a very handy allrounder from Newzealand. Another impact player and an allrounder for this side would be Doug Bracewell.

As for Chennai, captain cool Dhoni will look to play Albie Morkel, the local lad. In a pace induced pitch, Doug Bollinger could very well be the difference between these two teams with the kind of pace he generates along with impeccable line and length. Also,the big man from Australia, Mathew Hayden will be expected to lead the batting from the front.

Another thriller can be expected as the players from each of the teams haven't faced each other before and thus, strategies will be interesting to devise. Lets hope for another high scoring entertainment.

Probable XI:

Central Stag	Chennai SuperKings
Jamie How (Captain)	M.S.Dhoni (Captain)
Doug Bracewell	S.Anirudha
Brandon Diamanti	S. Badrinath
Bevan Griggs	D.Bollinger
Mathew Sinclair	M.Muralitharan
Michael Mason	R.Ashwin
Mitchell McCleaghan	S.Raina
Peter Ingram	M.Vijay
Adam Milne	L. Balaji
K.N.Barnett	J.Sharma
George Worker	M.Hayden

Wayamba Elevens v/s Warriors - Preview

Day two of the Champions League and we have an entertaining second half of the day ahead as we go into a double header. First the Wayamba Eleven take on the local team, Warriors. The Jehan Mubarak led Wayambe will look to make an impact this season after a dismal first round exit in the last year's edition of the Champions League.

Warriors, on the other hand, will look to emulate the performance of the Highveld Lions on day one. The team, led by their Wicket Keeper David Jacobs will look to exploit the fact that his team will be better accustomed to the local conditions.

While Wayamba would look up to Mahela Jayawardhane and captain Jehan Mubarak in the batting front, Fervez Maharoof and Ajanta Mendis will be expected to take care of the bowling department. A closely knit squad consisting mainly of Srilankan players will try to use their team chemistry to their advantage.

Warriors on the other hand will bank heavily their quick bowlers like Makhaya Ntini, Juan Theron and Lonwabo Tsotsobe to hit the deck and generate good pace on pacer friendly South African wickets.

All we can do is expect another thriller of a match.

Probable XI

Wayamba Elevens	Warriors
Jehan Mubarak (Captain)	David Jacobs (Captain and Wicket Keeper)
Mahela Jayawardhane	Johan Botha
Fervez Maharoof	Ashwell Prince
Sameera De Zoysa (Wicket Keeper)	Colin Ingram
Rangana Herath	Juan Theron
Ajanta Mendis	Makhaya Ntini
Mahela Udawatte	Lonwabo Tsotsobe
Jeewantha Kulatunga	Jon-Jon Smuts
Thisara Perera	Craig Thyssen
Isuru Udana	Nicky Boje
S.Karunanayake	Justin Kreusch

Young Opener Inspires Lions to victory

Toss: Mumbai Indians, elected to field

Venue: The Wanderers,Johanesburg

Pitch Report: A typical Wanderers track with a tinge of green to assist the quicker bowlers early on and spin in the later stages of the game. Sachin probably looked at that and his strong pace attack and elected to field first to try and make early inroads in the Lions' batting line-up.

In a high scoring game, the local outfit, Highveld Lions stunned the Mumbai Indians by beating them by 9 runs to kickstart their Champions' League campaign.

Chasing a stiff total of 187, Mumbai Indians' captain Sachin Tendulkar, along with his opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan got off to a flyer as they amassed 83 runs in just 9.3 over before Dhawan fell, attempting a lofted reverse sweep and failing to clear the short third man fielder.

Another Indian youngster came in next but went back in the same pace as he was runout in the very next over.

In came , JP Duminy, who with Sachin tried to steady the ship. The match was still in the balance till Shane Burger struck gold and dismissed Tendulkar, who attempted a shot that can be described as disappointing for his standards. When he fell, the score stood at 133-

3 off 14.3 overs, with Mumbai still needing 56 runs off 33 balls.

Pollard and Duminy tried to continue the chase, with Pollard scoring 16 runs off the first 5 deliveries off Shane Burger in the 17th over. But, Burger made a great comeback in the last ball of the over, by clean bowling Pollard. Within the next two overs, Duminy also fell in his attempt to get to the total.

With 16 needed off the last 6 balls, Shane Burger kept up his line and length and saw his team home by 9 runs.

Earlier, put into bat by the Mumbai Indians, the Lions were off to a brisk start as their 20-year-old opener Jonathan Vandiar scored 71 runs off just 48 deliveries and held two good partnerships in the middle overs, one with Jaarsveld (13) and Neil McKenzie, who went on to finish the innings in style by scoring a quick 56 off just 30 deliveries and taking the team's total to 186.

The Turning Point : Inspite of having to chase a huge total of 187, Mumbai were always in the game till Sachin, after scoring 69 off 43, departed in the 15th over. From then on, it was an uphill task for them as the Lions showed great discipline in the field and bowled brilliantly without trying too many things.

The Hero : As much as I hate the fact that the batsmen take away all the credit each and everytime, this game's hero has to be the young opener Jonathan Vandiar who held the Lions' innings together and scored an important 71.

Despite disappointment for the cricket lovers back here in India, what a start this is to the Champions' League, a high scoring match where the underdogs have emerged victorious.

The Lions' can celebrate and take a lot of confidence ahead in the tournament while Mumbai will try not to panic too much and look for the little gaps that they need to fill and come out stronger in the next game.

Scorecard: Highveld Lions 186 for 5 (Vandiar 71, McKenzie 56*, Malinga 3-33) beat Mumbai Indians 177 for 6 (Tendulkar 69, Burger 2-33) by nine runs.

Man Of The Match : Jonathan Vandiar, the 20 year-old left-handed opener for the Lions', for his knock of 71 from just 48 deliveries that helped the Lions' post a mamoth 186.

Pictures Courtesy : Cricinfo