Champions League Twenty20 Betting – Trinidad one win away from semis berth
by Juris Graney
After watching the way 22-year-old Kieron Pollard unpityingly and viciously destroyed NSW with the bat in their run chase on Friday, Diamond Eagles bowlers will be having nightmares.
The leviathan entered the fray, his team in tatters at 5/101 after 13 overs chasing an imposing 171 for victory, then in a matter of just 18 balls, the game was over. NSW much vaunted bowling attack lay in tatters, none as much as Moises Henriques who up until this match ranked as one of the top three bowlers of the tournament.
His 21 balls cost his team 49 runs and the match while Pollard, an enigma, celebrated with his team for their emphatic victory that kept them on target for an unlikely semi-final berth.
Pollard has burst onto the scene for the West Indies as an all-rounder of immense proportions. Not only can he rip down right arm medium pace but his batting is brutal as it is pure. His first scoring shot in an international, a Test match no less, was a six and he peppered the empty grand stands at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad with five sixes and four boundaries on his way to 54no.
He is one reason why the Diamond Eagles will be hoping to dismiss him early if they ever get to him. You see the South African provincial side is low on attacking weapons when it comes to bowling. They have yet to outright dismiss a team and although there is promising signs from Cornelius du Villers who took tournament high figures of 4/17 against Somerset, those wickets were against Somerset – hardly a team that instills fear through its batsmen.
If T&T get bogged down they may elevate Pollard up the order which means he could potentially score a massive hundred in this tournament. The only batsmen striking in the 200’s, Pollard has amassed 97 runs in three digs at an average of 49 and strike rate of 210.
The Eagles, well they need captain Boetta Dippenaar to fire and fire soon. A list of cheap dismissals is doing nothing for his confidence and putting pressure on the other batsmen.
A win here for Trinidad will assure them a semi-final spot and if they can make it that far, well, they can win the tournament for sure.
