Champions League Twenty20 Tournament - Duminy injects venom into Cobras batting
by Juris Graney
Against all odds South African franchise the Cape Cobras have beaten their more highly fancied Indian Premier League franchise the Bangalore Royal Challengers by five wickets in the opening match of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament.
The man who led the team to victory was South African dynamo JP Duminy who scored an unbeaten and unselfish 99.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Bangalore, this year’s IPL runners-up thought they looked comfortable posting an imposing 4/180 off their 20 overs.
In this short form of the game, 180 is a target rarely reached so it is no wonder they thought they could coast home – but they couldn’t, not when you have the likes of Duminy and fellow Proteas legend Herschelle Gibbs.
Bangalore’s inning was highlighted by two half centuries, Robin Uthappa (51 off 39 balls) and Kiwi Ross Taylor (53 off 24 balls) providing the meat on the bones of the innings.
Jacques Kallis’ tournament got off to a slow start dismissed for eight while Rahul Dravid (28 off 24 balls), India’s Virat Kholi (17 off 14 balls) and Manish Pandey (10 off 10 balls) all played minor roles.
The pick of the Cobras bowlers was Charl Langveldt with 1/12 off three overs.
When they came out to bat on a belter of a pitch at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the Cobras needed nine runs an over to win and they did it with ease.
Gibbs provided nothing to the total caught behind for a golden duck to leave the Cobras 1/5 after the first over and when captain Andrew Puttick was dismissed for 11 in the third over to leave the Cobras 2/14, many thought the game was dead and buried however Duminy had other plans.
Inventive as he was brutal, Duminy punished every bowler carving out a half century in 30 balls and narrowly missed his century.
For all intents and purposes he could have farmed the strike in the last two overs to ensure he became the first centurion at this tournament however he put his team first and allowed his batting partner Rory Kleinveldt belt the winning runs with a four through wide mid-off with two balls remaining.
