Related Links : Champions League Twenty20 2009 | Scorecard
Trinidad and Tobago showed that they could perhaps be the best T20 Side in the world even when compared with the other International Teams like Pakistan, India, Australia etc! In the 2nd Semi Final match at Hyderabad, T&T had to chase a difficult target of 176 set by Cape Cobras which they did in style to reach the Final against New South Wales.
Cobras won the toss and batted first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. After a lot of twists and turns in their innings, the Cobras piled up 175 for 5 with JP Duminy finishing on an unbeaten 61 from 40 with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Star Opener Herschelle Gibbs finally came good smashing 42 from 27 balls with 5 fours and a six. Trinidad and Tobago did well to see that the Cobras never batted them out of the contest which includes a brilliant last over from Ravi Rampaul that was taken for just two runs! There was some magic on the field from Kieron Pollard but in vain, the big man had taken a catch overhead at the boundary ropes presented by Rory Kleinveldt but as he was losing balance lobbed the ball away inside the playing the area. Pollard then dived forward full length from outside the boundary ropes to hold onto the low catch but that wasn’t enough to convince the TV Umpire.
T&T like always wasted little time in the middle when it came to batting. Its openers – William Perkins (20 from 16 balls) and Adrian Barath (29 from 16 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes) provided a lovely start again of 53 runs on the board in just 5 overs. The pitch seemed to be a touch tricky as the ball became softer and Cobras seemed to have the control of the game when Lendl Simmons got out in the 11th over leaving the score at 85 for 3. The South African side though failed to cash in on the opportunities with as many as three catches going down. There were a few fumbles as well and one could feel that they were going to prove costly for the fielding side.
Like Herschelle Gibbs, Dwayne Bravo too finally came good with the bat in the big match situation. Bravo after an initial struggle was back to his best playing the wristy and the inside out shots to good effect. Skipper Daren Ganga supported him well with a smooth knock of 44 not out from 31 balls with one four and two sixes. Bravo finished the match with four balls to spare and he got himself a well paced 58 from 34 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Bravo was the Man of the Match for his cool batting under pressure.
The Final of the this tournament will be played tomorrow at this same venue and one can expect another high-scoring contest.