Champions League Twenty20 Betting – Bushrangers plan to rob Cobras of League glory
by Juris Graney
Cape Cobras vs Victoria Bushrangers
Saturday, September 17, 8am
Cape Cobras N/A
Victoria Bushrangers N/A
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils
Saturday, September 17, 10am
Royal Challengers Bangalore N/A
Delhi Daredevils N/A
Cape Cobras vs Victoria Bushrangers
The surprise packet of the Champions League Twenty20, South African’s provincial team, the Cape Cobras, face the in form Australian state team Victoria Bushrangers in the first match of Saturday’s double header.
The unbeaten Cobras moved through the first stage of the tournament having chased down a mammoth 180 against Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore then put New Zealand provincial team Otago Volts to the sword piling the tournament’s highest score so far of 4/193.
All of this without their biggest name player even firing.
Proteas’ Herschelle Gibbs has contributed just one run in two outings with the bat, a poor return from an international of his calibre but a quick look at his T20 stats and it’s not surprising. Despite striking at 129.60, Gibbs averages just 19 in 20 matches but he would be disappointed with his own efforts at opener.
JP Duminy, the Cobras other international, led his team home against Bangalore with a match high 99no before captain Andrew Puttick, drafted into the side to replace Proteas leader Graeme Smith, smashed 104no off just 62 balls against Otago including 12 fours and three sixes.
All the while Gibbs faced just five balls and spent more time walking to and from the dressing shed.
Cobras fans will be hoping that the 35-year-old veteran finds his feet however it will be a tough ask against the Bushrangers, who have on of the most formidable attacks in this tournament.
It is plainly obvious that the Cobras fancy themselves with the bat, which is makes this a great contest because the perfect foil is a team that fancies themselves with the ball.
Step up to the plate Victoria.
While the Cobras have the top two batsmen of the tournament in Duminy and Puttick, Victoria has the top two bowlers in Shane Harwood and Clint McKay.
The opening pair have snared the most wickets (five a piece) of any of the bowlers and economically they are sound. Add to this current Australian internationals Peter Siddle and match winner Andrew McDonald and the Cobras won’t have it all their own way when they take to the pitch.
McDonald in particular has hit form at the right end of the tournament taking 4/21 off his four overs against Bangalore in the opening match of the second round of this tournament.
Those wickets included the breakthrough against set batsmen Manish Pandey and Rahul Dravid before he cleaned up Virat Kohli and the ever-dangerous Kiwi Ross Taylor.
Having beaten two of the three IPL franchises in Delhi and Bangalore, the smart money here is on Victoria. They are just one win away from a semi-final berth, which would upset the apple cart for the rest of the tournament.
The Cape Cobras will then back up on Monday in the final game of the second leg of this tournament against the Delhi Daredevils.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils
A loss to Bangalore in the battle of the IPL franchises could see them pack their bags for home a lot earlier than many predicted.
As previously mentioned in this piece, Bangalore were shock losers to the Cobras in the opening match of the tournament despite posting 180. They redeemed themselves with a win over the lowly placed Otago scoring 188 before their illustrious batting line-up fell over themselves against Victoria, routed for 127.
Delhi didn’t escape humiliation beaten by Victoria in stunning fashion, managing just 98 from their 20 overs then capitulating in just over 16 overs and taking just three wickets.
They redeemed themselves against Sri Lanka’s Wayamba Eleven but it was far from impressive with the IPL team scoring 170. The ones to fail so far include a long list of players expected to excel in this tournament.
Gautam Gambhir’s managed just seven runs in two innings while Owais Shah, Delhi’s massive US$250,000 signing has scored 18 in two digs. Tillakaratne Dilshan has been on the verge of something big in both innings before losing his wicket for 18 and 10.
This match will be all about the batsmen.
Can Bangalore’s top order of Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli score more runs than Delhi’s Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Dilshan and Shah?
If either team gets set then a 180-plus score is on the cards in the first innings and a thrilling run chase will ensue.
