New Delhi: Winners of Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash, New South Wales Blues, delivered a clinical performance in the first semi-final of the inaugural Champions League T20 on a rather difficult Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, thrashing the runners-up of their domestic competition, Victorian Bushrangers, by 79 runs, in what was probably the most one-sided match of the tournament.

The NSW team, led by Simon Katich, muscled their way to a total of 169 for 7 with the help of a brilliant opening partnership between David Warner and Phillip Hughes. Chasing 170, Victoria’s pursuit looked hopeless with three top-order batsmen back in the pavilion inside three overs and all they could manage was 90 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs, with Matthew Wade’s unbeaten 23 as the highest individual score, showing the sorry state of Victoria in the match.

Wary of chasing on Ferozeshah Kotla’s much-derided track, NSW captain Simon Katich opted to bat first and the in-form left-handed duo of Warner and Hughes vindicated the captain’s decision. Shane Harwood’s bowled a measly first over, yielding just one run, but that was merely the lull before the storm with Warner in the thick of action.

Warner welcomed Harwood on his return with back-to-back fours and in the very next over hit the first two balls from Siddle for boundaries and a dot ball later, lifted him over long-off ropes. Siddle bled 19 runs in that forgettable over. Warner, known for his swashbuckling ways, was in no mood to relent and the way he treated the Victorian bowlers, it was clear that none of them could remove him.

The left-hander was dismissed run out in the seventh over, having dominated the 62-run opening stand. Warner’s spectacular 25-ball 48 was decked with seven fours and two sixes. Hughes decided to continue the tempo and milked 13 runs off Jon Holland’s first over before a Clint McKay slower delivery saw his off-stump castled. Hughes took 28 balls to score 35 brisk runs that included four fours and a six.

Daniel Smith (20) and Simon Katich (26) continued the good work as both scored quickly enough to haul the team past the 100-mark in 11 overs before they fell in a nine-ball span. Andrew McDonald and Shane Harwood stemmed the run flow with some disciplined bowling as NSW somewhat ran out of steam towards the end despite having being provided a perfect platform by the top order to go for the late charge.

The Victorian bowlers did a good job in the last five overs, conceding 37 runs, while claiming four wickets. McKay was the pick of the bowlers for Victoria with figures of 3 for 27 in 4 overs.

Considering NSW’s bowling repertoire, it was always going to be difficult for Victoria to chase down 170 but they wouldn’t have expected that they would be completely derailed by Brett Lee and Co.

Simon Katich’s move to open the bowling with Nathan Hauritz did wonders as he removed both openers, Brad Hodge (0) and Rob Quiney (0) in the second over while Brett Lee snared Andrew Blizzard (5) in the next. Moises Henriques then ended any hopes of a fightback by first removing David Hussey (16) with his very first delivery and then accounting for Victoria captain Cameron White (11) in his next over. The young all-rounder went on to add Clint McKay’s scalp to finish with three for 11.

At 39 for five, Victoria needed a miracle to win the match and the miracle did not occur. All they could manage was a meagre 90 runs in their 20 overs for the loss of 9 wickets. Matthew Wade was the highest scorer, making 23 not out. Only four Victorian batsmen could manage to reach the double figures with only one getting past 20. For NSW Blues, Brett Lee led from the front finishing with figures of 2 for 15 in 4 overs.

The second semi-final will be played between Trinidad & Tobago and the Cape Cobras at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.

Brief Scores:

New South Wales 169 for 7 (Warner 48, Hughes 35, McKay 3-27) beat Victoria 90 for 9 (Wade 23 not out, Henriques 3-11, Lee 2-15) by 79 runs.

Man of the Match: David Warner

Tagged with: Andrew McDonald, Brett Lee, Champions League T20, Clint McKay, Daniel Smith, David Warner, Feroz Shah Kotla, Matthew Wade, Moises Henriques, Nathan Hauritz, New Delhi, New South Wales, Peter Siddle, Phillip Hughes, Shane Harwood, Simon Katich, Victoria

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