DELHI, India, CMC – New South Wales (NSW) set themselves up for a possible revenge rematch with Trinidad and Tobago when they crushed Victoria by 79 runs in yesterday’s first Champions League Twenty20 semi-final match.
Man of the match David Warner cracked a blistering 48 in NSW’s 169 for seven off 20 overs and Victoria replied meekly with 90 for nine in the all-Australia clash at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
NSW, who suffered their only loss of the tournament when Trinidad and Tobago stung them in a thriller last weekend, are through to tomorrow’s final against the winners of today’s second semi-final between unbeaten Trinidad and Tobago and Cape Cobras.
Electing to bat, New South Wales got a solid start from Warner and Phillip Hughes, who posted a brisk first-wicket stand of 62 inside the first seven overs.
Warner smashed his 48 off just 25 balls with seven fours and two sixes and Hughes scored 35 off 28 balls with four fours and a six.
“We knew the deck was going to be slow and low and we decided to come out hard,” Warner said after the match.
“We tried to hit it as straight as possible and aim at the sightscreen. We were targeting 150-160 and we knew it was going to be hard to chase,” he added.
Captain Simon Katich (26) and Daniel Smith (20) also scored quickly to set up NSW’s winning total.
Clint McKay (3-27) used his four overs well and was Victoria’s chief wicket-taker.
Victoria’s run-chase started disastrously and they never recovered from being six for three in the third over.
Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who shared the new ball with Brett Lee, dislodged Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge, both without scoring, and Lee sent back Aiden Blizzard (5) to wreck Victoria’s top order.
It was smooth sailing thereafter for NSW.
Matthew Wade stroked an unbeaten 23 but Victoria never even remotely threatened the target.
Moises Henriques led NSW’s bowling with three for 11 off three overs, while Lee (2-15) and Hauritz (2-25) shared four wickets in the handsome victory.
“It was a great all-round team effort,” said Katich.
“Our bowlers have been great, a reason why we have been able to come this far. They’ve been consistent throughout,” added the winning captain.
The second semi-final today will be played in Hyderabad between Trinidad and Tobago, the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far, and South Africa’s Cape Cobras.
SCOREBOARD
NEW SOUTH WALES Innings
P Hughes b McKay 35
D Warner run out (McDonald/wkp Wade) 48
+D Smith b McDonald 20
*S Katich run out (Hussey/wkp Wade) 26
M Henriques b Harwood 12
B Rohrer c Quiney b McKay 19
S Smith c White b McKay 2
B Lee not out 0
N Hauritz not out 1
Extras (b3, lb3) 6
TOTAL (7 wickets – 20 overs) 169
Did not bat: S Clark, D Bollinger
Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Warner, 6.5 overs), 2-90 (Hughes, 9.4), 3-121 (D Smith, 13.6), 4-134 (Katich, 15.3), 5-158 (Henriques, 18.3), 6-163 (S Smith, 19.2), 7-167 (Rohrer, 19.4)
Bowling: Harwood 4-0-23-1; Siddle 4-0-43-0; McKay 4-0-27-3; Hodge 1-0-10-0; Holland 3-0-34-0; McDonald 4-0-26-1.
VICTORIA Innings
R Quiney b Hauritz 0
B Hodge lbw b Hauritz 0
A Blizzard c Katich b Lee 5
D Hussey c Katich b Henriques 16
*C White c S Smith b Henriques 11
A McDonald b Bollinger 9
+M Wade not out 23
C McKay c Katich b Henriques 8
S Harwood st D Smith b S Smith 10
J Holland b Lee 0
P Siddle not out 1
Extras (lb4, w3) 7
TOTAL (9 wickets – 20 overs) 90
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Quiney, 1.3 overs), 2-2 (Hodge, 1.5), 3-6 (Blizzard, 2.5), 4-32 (Hussey, 8.1), 5-39 (White, 10.4), 6-54 (McDonald, 13.4), 7-68 (McKay, 15.6), 8-87 (Harwood, 18.5), 9-88 (Holland, 19.3)
Bowling: Lee 4-1-15-2; Hauritz 4-0-25-2 (1w); Bollinger 4-0-14-1 (2w); Clark 4-0-17-0; Henriques 3-0-11-3; Smith 1-0-4-1
Result: NSW win by 79 runs
Man-of-the-Match: David Warner (NSW)
Toss: NSW
Umpires: K Dharmasena, B Doctrove
TV umpire: S Hazare
Match Referee: R Mahanama
