ESPNcricinfo looks back on the Champion League T20's best, worst and weirdest
Nikita Bastian
October 10, 2011
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Analysis : A tournament of contrasting venues
Features : Malinga solves Mumbai Indians' problems
Series/Tournaments:
Nokia Champions League T20
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Lasith Malinga is one of the best limited-overs bowlers in the world, and against Somerset
in the CLT20 semi-final, he showed why. Four full balls, four batsmen's
stumps destroyed. In his opening spell, he snagged Somerset's big two -
Peter Trego with an outswinging yorker and Roelof van der Merwe with a
slow, low full toss. He returned with a seven-run 18th over at a stage
when Somerset needed 29 of 18, with Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler
well set and coming off a 16-run Abu Nechim over. James Franklin
delivered in the penultimate over, and Malinga sealed the win in the
last, taking out an improvising Nick Compton with a straight full
delivery and Murali Kartik next ball with a yorker on middle stump. Game
over. And yes, we won't forget Malinga also won Mumbai their opening
game against Chennai Super Kings with his batting and got vital late runs in the final
Innings of the tournament
David Warner, 135 not out off 69 balls, Chennai Super Kings v New South Wales
David Warner, 135 not out off 69 balls, Chennai Super Kings v New South Wales
A do-or-die match against the defending champions, at their home ground.
A fitting stage to produce your best ever Twenty20 innings, you think?
David Warner certainly did, in a match that pitted CSK against New South Wales
with a place in the semis on offer. The left-handed Warner floored the
hosts with a mix of straight- and switch-hitting in a knock that
included eight sixes - one of his monster straight hits cleared the
stadium, while he pulled another right-handed six over what normally
would have been extra cover. His unbeaten 135 - the highest individual
score in CLT20 history - came at a strike-rate of almost 200 at a venue
where teams had previously struggled to collectively get past 120,
courtesy the sluggish conditions. Warner carried NSW and his form into
the semi-final, where he clobbered a century against RCB, albeit on a
more batting-friendly Bangalore pitch
The plot: RCB need six off the final ball against South Australia
to make the knockouts. The actor: Arun Karthik, one of the many Indians
playing support roles to their more fancied international team-mates.
The climax: Karthik, facing only his second ball of the game, smashes
Daniel Christian into the stands beyond midwicket … CLT20 2011's
Miandad-moment in the bag.
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Sunil Narine picked up 10 wickets at 10.50 apiece in the competition and
recorded the best economy rate (10 overs minimum): 4.37. He had most
batsmen baffled with what he terms the 'knuckle ball'. That was best
demonstrated in T&T's match against CSK.
Narine claimed 3 for 8 in his four overs, bowling M Vijay and inducing
Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni to return catches. His deceptions are so
subtle - abstruse grip, lightning quick release - that even television's
slow-motion replays could not fully unravel the mystery. Another
project for all those professional video analysts, then?
Allrounder Suryakumar Yadav was one of MI's several walking wounded. He
was the eighth local player to be cut from the squad due to injury,
prompting the CLT20 officials to tweak the playing rules and allow MI to
field five foreign players. Mid-way through the tournament Yadav was
spotted playing in an Under-22 tournament in Mumbai, in which he scored
191. Injury concerns seemingly addressed then, he returned to the MI
squad, the rules were reverted and he promptly went on to compile a
handy cameo in the semi-final against Somerset
Prior to the tournament, Andrew Symonds had 2115 runs in 89 Twenty20s at
a strike-rate of 148.73 - the highest aggregate in a MI side that was
without Rohit Sharma. A lot was expected from him, especially in Sachin
Tendulkar and Rohit's absence. He managed only 26 runs in four matches
at less than a run-a-ball. Dirk Nannes slotted in a close second, his
poor show mitigated slightly by a tidy spell in the final. He was
expected to be RCB's pace spearhead in Zaheer Khan's absence, but picked
up only two wickets in six games and had an average of over 200.00 at
one stage
He's the youngest player to be awarded a central contract by Cricket
Australia since the current system was introduced in 1998, and no
wonder: 18-year-old Patrick Cummins managed to hit speeds of 150 kph
even on the dead Chepauk pitch. Cummins claimed seven wickets in all, at
an average of 19.42. Virat Kohli, one of the tournament's form batsmen,
paid him rich tribute after the RCB-NSW semi-final,
saying he was wary of Cummins and blocked out his final four balls when
the match was at a tricky stage as he considered him NSW's strike
bowler. Time now to see what Cummins can do against South Africa on
international debut
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Quip of the tournament
"When I saw that boundary in Bangalore I thought of becoming a batsman."
Murali Kartik on Bangalore's boundaries - one of them measures in at 50-odd metres
"When I saw that boundary in Bangalore I thought of becoming a batsman."
Murali Kartik on Bangalore's boundaries - one of them measures in at 50-odd metres
Closely followed by …
"At that point of the game, we normally have a guy called Pollard coming
in for us, but unfortunately he was playing for the other team."
Alfonso Thomas, when asked whether Somerset, in the semi-final against Mumbai Indians, lost the plot because of a lack of sixes until the late overs
Alfonso Thomas, when asked whether Somerset, in the semi-final against Mumbai Indians, lost the plot because of a lack of sixes until the late overs
Ravi Rampaul has been one of the leading bowlers in the CLT20, topping the wicket-takers' table with 12 wickets at 12.50 apiece and conceding only 6.25 runs an over. Against NSW
though, it all went wrong. Chasing 140 NSW were 123 for 8 at the end of
the 19th over. With 16 to defend, Rampaul came on and attempted to bowl
his typical angling-across deliveries from round the stumps. He strayed
in line though, only to be flicked by Moises Henriques for consecutive
fours. Rampaul lost his nerve and couldn't recover. NSW tied the game
and Henriques demolished Rampaul once more in the Super Over that
followed, smacking him for four boundaries to secure the win.
Yo-yo of the tournament
Shaun Tait, South Australia's fast bowler
Shaun Tait, South Australia's fast bowler
Following his dismantling by Warriors (he went at 13.25 in his four
overs) in Hyderabad, Shaun Tait was dropped for South Australia's match
against Kolkata Knight Riders. South Australia's next match was
washed-out. In their final game, against RCB at home, Tait came storming
back with a five-for - the only one in the tournament - that included
the wickets of the rampaging Kohli and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The term 'lazy cricket' was redefined by Lendl Simmons in T&T's match against MI.
At 40 for 1 in the fifth over, T&T were off to a solid start when
Darren Bravo and Simmons attempted to run two. Simmons hit towards deep
backward square, ran the first, jogged the second and didn't even
attempt to ground his bat while the bails were whipped off. Replays
showed his foot was squarely on the line. He walked off and T&T
imploded for 98
Curse of the tournament
Practice makes perfect? South African wicketkeepers at the CLT20 won't agree. MI's Davy Jacobs (hip injury), RCB's AB de Villiers (fractured finger) and Warriors' Mark Boucher (strained hamstring), all picked up their injuries during seemingly harmless practice sessions.
Practice makes perfect? South African wicketkeepers at the CLT20 won't agree. MI's Davy Jacobs (hip injury), RCB's AB de Villiers (fractured finger) and Warriors' Mark Boucher (strained hamstring), all picked up their injuries during seemingly harmless practice sessions.
Nikita Bastian is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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