As of today, we have seen all the 10 teams participating in the OPPO Champions League Twenty20 2014 in action. Three out of these teams I believe could go on to win the CLT20 2014 if they can sustain their form and momentum in the next couple of weeks.
Here are the three teams that I think could win CLT20 2014:
Northern Knights
Northern Knights
New Zealand teams are never quite considered as favourites to win any tournament. But the Northern Knights led by Daniel Flynn in Group B look extremely good to become the Champions League Twenty20 2014 winners. I will tell you why. The Northern Knights are getting all their powers from their openers – whether it is the opening batting pair of Kane Williamson and Anton Devcich or the opening bowling pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult! I reckon it is safe to bet on the Northern Knights. Betfair.com have the Northern Knights placed at 13/2 as the outright winner of CLT20 2014.
So far it has been a delight to watch Tim Southee and Trent Boult giving us the master class in swinging the cricket ball in both directions, late in the air at sharp speeds! Yep, and Kane Williamson is emerging as a big superstar in World Cricket. He is showing us that he can score runs big at superb strike rates. Well everything else about the Northern Knights looks great whether it is their back up bowlers or their middle and lower order batting.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders
From Group A, I feel it is the Kolkata Knight Riders who are looking absolutely awesome having won two out of two matches so far. And that included a surprise victory against the Chennai Super Kings which showed their batting depth. Kolkata Knight Riders are placed 5/2 for becoming the outright winners of CLT20 2014 in the cricket betting sites.
Of course, the KKR led by Gautam Gambhir have a lot to improve. Their fielding was shoddy against the Lahore Lions. The Knight Riders will have to reassess their wicket keeping options for sure. Well then how they have managed to win twice so far? The reason is their super strong spin attack that has the unplayable mystery spinner Sunil Narine!
Backing up Sunil Narine is India discard Piyush Chawla who is good at taking wickets with his mixture of leg breaks and googlies. And in the previous game against the Lahore Lions, we have another find for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the form of left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav.Yusuf Pathan is also a decent spinner who can dry up the runs.
The Knight Riders have the exciting Pat Cummins, who is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. Pat Cummins has also given an all-round dimension to the team with his batting in the lower order. Then there is another match-winner Andre Russell who stole a victory from Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener at Hyderabad. Let’s see if KKR who are the defending IPL Champions can go on to win the Champions League Twenty20 2014 as well.
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab
Making their debut in the CLT20 tournament are the Kings XI Punjab in Group B led by George Bailey. Kings XI Punjab all these years haven’t performed that great in the IPL except for 2014 if my memory serves me right. All of a sudden, the Kings XI Punjab are an absolute dynamic batting unit that can comfortably chase down any target set to them. Cricket Betting markets have the Kings XI Punjab placed at 9/4 for becoming the outright winners of the OPPO Champions League Twenty20 2014.
Well any team that has Glenn Maxwell is certainly blessed. At times, I get a feeling whether Glenn Maxwell is the greatest batsman in the world right now. Of course in this format of the game and may be also in ODIs. Maxwell can play such breezy innings that it is virtually impossible to stop him when he is on song.
Backing up Maxwell are Virender Sehwag, David Miller, the perfect finisher and of course the ice-cool George Bailey to go along with two or three other talented batsmen. On the bowling front, Kings XI Punjab are well served by the tall Akshar Patel whose arm balls are quite deadly. Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera is another match-winner who can come up with a brilliant spell or a brilliant cameo with the bat.