Sydney Sixers - Champions again!

Typically, cricket tournament finals are celebrated as occasions that are significant and are festooned by music, colour and the buzz of a team being crowned champions. One expects a final to be the best game of the tournament, which is played between two equally good sides and that compete at the same level too. The World T20 final was exactly what final-worthy in that sense means, but the same cannot be said about the CLT20 final that was played last night at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Amongst all the teams that participated in the Champions League T20 this year, there have been only a couple of teams who were at the top of their game – the Sydney Sixers, the Highveld Lions and to a certain extent, the Nashua Titans. As unfair as it was to have 4 IPL teams competing in the tournament, only the Delhi Daredevils came close to the semifinals, while the other teams’ outing this time was cataclysmic.

The final was expected to be a spectacle with the home side taking on the champions of the Big Bash League in Australia. The Lions did have a good run throughout the tournament with useful contributions from everyone who featured in the lineups. They relied on their players to perform as a team and so they did throughout the tournament. On the other hand, the Sixers were a well-balanced team that consisted of no big names, but were a team that had the right balance and mixture of youth and experience. Far from being a closely-contested game, it was carnage for the Lions who were not just beaten, but humbled at home, while the Sixers finished the tournament unbeaten.

Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years and can now hope for a baggy green soon. He was clinical in the finals having scalped 3 wickets for 22 runs in his 4 overs. But the real damage early-on was caused by Nathan McCullum who dismissed the dangerous Bodi in the first over, instantly putting pressure onto the Lions. The Sixers’ magnificent bowling performance restricted the Lions to a meagre 121 that Lumb and Haddin powered them to in less than 13 overs – assisted by a few drops from the Lions.

The Sixers in the tournament have been a complete team – with exceptional fielders, a great batting unit and dedicated bowlers. They have not fallen short in either department. Even when the batsmen put up a below-par performance, the bowlers stood up and won them the game. That is what makes a complete team – the ability to stand up for each other and make up for the others’ shortcomings, and Sixers have done it consistently throughout the season. With Watson leaving the tournament mid-way, it was anticipated that their chances of making the finals and winning would be affected, but they proved their self-sufficiency with this win.

What was disappointing was the damp performance by the Lions who didn’t look to compete at any stage of the game. It is not an unfamiliar fact that the Australians hate to lose; they usually save their best for the last on most occasions, and didn’t disappoint once again. Once they smell dankness, they capitalize to destroy their opponents and the Sixers did exactly that. They had come unbeaten into the finals, and finished the tournament with a 10-wicket victory over the home team. The Sixers have a record to be proud of – they have now won both the tournaments they have been a part of.