2013 CLT20 Semi-Final 2: Giant Killers Trinidad and Tobago raring to go against Mumbai Indians
Yesterday after defeating Chennai Super Kings in the semifinals at Jaipur, Rajasthan grabbed the bragging rights to be at one end in the CLT20 finals that is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on October 6, 2013. The fight for the other place is quite a surprising one with the IPL champions Mumbai Indians taking on Caribbean T20 giants Trinidad and Tobago in the second semi finals.
No one would have expected these two teams to face off each other in the semi finals of the 2013 Champions League T20. But the last match day in the league phase of the tournament had few surprises in store for the fans. It needed a herculean effort from Mumbai Indians to displace Otago Volts from the semi final line up.
They chased down 150 runs in less than 13 overs and stormed into the semis that had some chances of a possible face off with their arch rivals Chennai Super Kings. But Chennai’s loss to Trinidad and Tobago saw them drop a place to second in the points table. With that result Trinidad topped Group B and is pitted against Mumbai Indians in the Semi Finals. The semi finals is scheduled to take place at the Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi and the start of the match is just hours away.
Here is the overall preview of the second semi finals of the 2013 CLT20.
Mumbai Indians:
Recent Form: W W NR L W
Possible Playing XI: Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma (captain), Kieron Pollard, Glenn Maxwell, Ambati Rayudu, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha.
They sneaked into the semis at the expense of Otago Volts who impressed everyone throughout the tournament.
Rohit Sharma proved his teammates right for calling him “Hit Man” inside the dressing room. He led from the front with a devastating knock of 51 off 24 balls that helped Mumbai cross the target in the stipulated overs. He was ably supported by Dwayne Smith who started the innings off with a flier with some initial blitz. Keiron Pollard also played a second fiddle to Rohit Sharma.
Ambati Rayudu and Glenn Maxwell too were in good touch but the form of their senior statesman Sachin Tendulkar should worry the Mumbai team management a lot. He didn’t have the kind of farewell tournament he would have dreamt of.
Their bowling department looks good with Aussie import Nathan Coulter-Nile calling the shots right. He is ably supported by Rishi Dhawan. Delhi’s pitch, which assists the spinners, will provide Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha what to show they are capable of. The bowlers will look to pick some early wickets in T&T’s batting line up thereby applying a brake in their run rate.
Mumbai will be happy with the fact that Kotla is a small ground in which even miss hit will carry into the stands. With the kind of power hitters Mumbai Indians have, it will be a walk in the park against Sunil Narine & Co.