Engineer of New South Wales’ Champions League Twenty20 win, Australian speedster Lee said after the match that he always strives to rise to the big occasions and is immensely satisfied to have performed the way he did in Friday’s final against the till then undefeated Trinidad and Tobago. Lee, who walked away with both the Man of the Match and the Man of the series awards, has always been a big match player and he said that he lives for moments like these.

“I think my game is coming up well and I’m enjoying it. I live for special moments like this and want to do well in big moments. When the crowd gets behind me, it becomes special and I’m happy I did well tonight,” said the pacer.

Lee came into bat with the NSW tottering at 83 for 6 but he played a brilliant knock scoring 48 off just 31 balls. He said that 130-140 would have been a defendable total in the final and to get near the 160-mark was a bonus. “I was trying to closely watch the balls. I knew if I stuck around we’d get some runs. We aimed at 130-140 but got 160 on the board which was quite defendable,” said the pacer.

Victorius NSW captain Simon Katich described it as a “very proud moment” but was gracious enough to praise the opponents. “It’s a very proud moment. Congratulations to T&T, who showed what they’re worth. Thanks for a great final,” he said.

Crediting Lee and Steven Smith, who hit a defiant 33, for propping up the side, Katich said the team raised their game when defending the total. “Brett Lee and Steven Smith were great with the bat and then everyone chipped in. We created opportunities and the guys fielded brilliantly. The opportunity to play on the world stage has been fantastic. It’s been invaluable for the young guys,” he said.

T&T skipper Darren Ganga conceded NSW played better cricket on the night but was proud of his own team’s show throughout the tournament. “It was a good run for us and all credit to NSW. We cracked under pressure. A lot people are disappointed but that is how it goes,” Ganga said.

“A lot of people back home are proud of us. Thanks to the Indian fans for supporting us. We have memories of the support and the fans and this will make a huge difference to the guys, and will inspire many players back in the Caribbean,” he added.

Champions League Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi also thanked the teams and crowds but he was tight-lipped when asked where the second edition of the Champions League would take place. “The Governing Council will meet in December to decide that,” he said.

NSW pocketed a whopping USD 2.5 million cheque for winning the tournament, while T&T were richer by USD 1.3 millions. Losing semifinalists Victoria Bushrangers and Cape Cobras earned a cool USD 500,000 each.

In the title showdown featuring top two teams of the tournament, it was a battle between the Caribbean flair and Australian professionalism and in the end, NSW had the last laugh with Brett Lee as their star performer. But a 41-run victory margin doesn’t mean that it was a one-sided match. In fact T&T dominated the proceedings, initially reducing NSW to 83 for 6, before Lee’s fighting innings lifted his side to a competitive total. He then returned for a fiery spell with the new ball, jolting T&T’s chase with two early wickets.

The match was won and lost in ten overs — the last five of the NSW innings and the first five of T&T’s — and it was Lee who imposed himself on the game-breaking moments.

Put into bat, NSW never really got going, with Ravi Rampaul (3/20) and Dwayne Bravo (2/27) polishing the top order before some poor shot selections did the middle order in. David Warner and Phil Hughes have been key to New South Wales’ success in the tournament so far but the left-handed opening pair, for once, gave in to the big match pressure.

Rampaul cleaned up Hughes (3) with the first delivery of his second over and then Bravo, with the help of a flying Dave Mohammad, cut short Warner’s (19) stay just when the burly left-hander had started looking his menacing self.

Simon Katich (16) decided to punish Bravo, hitting him for two sixes — one miscued shot soared over long-on ropes and another effortless pull cleared fine leg — in the same over before the pacer returned to settle the score. Three balls later, Moises Henriques (4) joined his captain in the pavilion, holing out in the deep off Kieron Pollard, and NSW were clearly in a hole at 49 for four.

Dave Mohammad removed Ben Rohrer (16) with his first delivery and Rampaul returned to disturb Daniel Smith’s timbers in the next over before Lee joined Smith in the middle.

At 83 for 6 in the 12^th over, NSW found a messiah in Brett Lee, whose 31-ball 48 along with Steven Smith’s 33, guided the Blues past the 150 runs mark. Lee seemed unstoppable, hitting the Caribbean bowlers all around the park in his knock of 48 which included one boundary and five huge sixes. Steven Smith gave Lee able support scoring 33 off 26 balls as the two lower order batsmen added 49 off just 37 balls before Smith was undone by Sherwin Ganga.

NSW ended with a competitive total of 159 for 9 off their 20 overs, with Ravi Rampaul being the pick of the bowlers for T&T, finishing with figures of 3 for 20 off 4 overs.

After his batting heroics, Lee (2/10) was in the thick of action again, claiming two quick wickets to reduce T&T to 21 for three in the first 14 balls of the innings. Lee’s second delivery saw the stumps of Wiliam Perkins (0) being rattled and the fastest bowler in the world returned to catch Lendl Simmons off his own bowling in the next over.

In between, Adrian Barath hit Steve Smith’s first three balls for successive fours, following it with a six before returning caught behind off the last delivery. The crisis deepened for the T&T as Dwayne Bravo (17), captain Darren Ganga (19) and Denesh Ramadin (16) fell when the team needed them the most.

Throughout this tournament, Pollard has batted like Lance Klusener did in the 1999 World Cup. No target seemed out of reach for him. In the league game against the same opposition, he had come in with the game almost lost and smashed a 18-ball 54 to win the game for his team. Just like Klusener, he showed tremendous composure — starting his innings calmly, dealing in singles, before he unleashed his own brand of razzmatazz. He hit Bollinger for a huge six off a free hit and then went after Nathan Hauritz. But he went for one big shot too many off Hauritz, as this time he couldn’t clear the boundary, and who else but Lee, at long-on took a brilliant catch. With Pollard’s exit, Trinidad’s dream run came to a crushing halt, and they had to settle for second prize – US$ 1.3 million.

T&T was eventually bowled out for 118 in the 16^th over. Brett Lee finished with figures of 2 for 10, with Stuart Clarke picking up 3 for 21.

It was a perfect advertisement for the T20 version of the game with the match being a see-saw battle having several big moments — the nervy collapse of both top orders, Ravi Rampaul’s astute seam bowling, Steven Smith’s sensible support act and the threat posed by Kieron Pollard — but the one that had the biggest impact was Lee’s all-round contribution.

The Champions League Twenty20 promised to change the face of club cricket when it was announced. And now, when the inaugural edition is finished, we can say for sure that everything that they claimed was right! It was a terrific tournament where the best of cricketers competed to the fullest of their abilities. Never did one get the feeling that it wasn’t an international tournament. Brace yourself people, this is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this wonderful game.

Brief Scores:

New South Wales 159 for 9 (Lee 48, Rampaul 3-20) beat Trinidad & Tobago 118 (Clark 3-21, Lee 2-10) by 41 runs

Man of the Match: Brett Lee

Man of the Series: Brett Lee

The Caribbean side trounced Cape Cobras by seven wickets in the second semi-final to set up Friday’s final against NSW Blues of Australia. Ganga played a crucial role with an unbeaten 44 and together with Dwayne Bravo (54 not out) put on an unbeaten 93-run stand to lead the side to yet another impressive win.

“I am quite happy to be in the final. But we are not content with just this (semifinal) win. Tonight is going to be pretty chilled though. We have set ourselves goals. We have five wins and it’s the final tomorrow, we get that sixth win they (teammates) can celebrate,” Ganga said after the match.

The Caribbean team had lost three top-order batsmen at the half-way mark while chasing a huge 176-run target but Ganga said they could afford a fearless approach only because of a strong batting order. “We had confidence that we have guys to win it. There were Kieron Pollard, Navin Stewart and Denesh Ramdin to come so that gave the freedom to bat freely,” he said.

Man-of-the-Match in the semi-final for his brilliant 54, Dwayne Bravo was happy to strike form just at the right time.

“I had contributed with the ball and I believed in my batting abilities. This was the right time to take off. I had not scored runs so it was a bit difficult to get the momentum but we could take on the attack because we had guys like Pollard (down the order),” Bravo, who has taken 10 wickets in the tournament so far, said.

Losing skipper Andrew Puttick said that poor fielding made it easy for Trinidad and Tobago. “The game could have been closer had we taken our chances. It’s disappointing to go out in this fashion. I think they handled the pressure better than us. It was a good wicket and I was happy with the score. We should have made it difficult for them,” Puttick, said.

Despite having beaten NSW Blues earlier in the League stage, Ganga was not ready to take their opponents light in the final.

“I know one thing for sure that NSW won’t be happy at all with our victory in the League round. We are bracing ourselves for a backlash. We know it’s a final. We know they are a quality team. They have quality players. We are not going to underestimate them at all. What ever happened in the league round is history. Tomorrow is about re-grouping. Hopefully we can bring lot of smiles to lot of faces,” Ganga said.

Ganga was also keen that his bowlers perform better in the power-play.

“We are never satisfied with the manner in which we played. Last game we played was a near perfect game but still we have areas of concerns like we need to bowl better in the first six overs,” he said.

The first semi-final had turned out to be a damp squib but the second one was no way near to being a one-sided affair. Trinidad and Tobago and Cape Cobras were neck to neck for a major part of the game until Dwayne Bravo exploded with a brilliant 34-ball 58 while adding 93 runs for the fourth wicket, with skipper Darren Ganga to help T&T keep their undefeated record in the tournament intact going into the finals.

Cape Cobras skipper Andrew Puttick won a crucial toss and opted to bat first. Herschelle Gibbs struck form for the Cobras just when it mattered as he smashed his way to a 27-ball 42 providing the much needed momentum to the Cobras innings in the first half. His knock included five fours and one hit over the boundary ropes.

Spinner Sherwin Ganga, drew the first blood when rival skipper Andrew Puttick (10) went for a pull, missed the line and found his timber being rattled. Davids came to the pitch and smacked a boundary on the third ball he faced from Sherwin. The fireworks began as Gibbs went after Bravo, the highest wicket taker of the tournament, creaming him for 18 runs by hitting four elegant on-side boundaries in the sixth over of the innings.

Ganga brought in Dave Mohammed and the left-arm spinner obliged with the wicket of Davids (7), done in by a splendid catch by the bowler off his own bowling. Duminy was the next man in and he continued with his fine form, hitting Mohammed for a four and a six, maintaining the good run-rate.

Gibbs survived a stumping chance off Kieron Pollard on the last ball of the eight over but Pollard got his man soon after as he bowled him on the first ball of his next over. Rory Kleinveldt (21) came to the pitch and straight away made an impact by hitting Navin Stewart and Pollard for huge sixes but departed soon while attempting another big shot off Simmons.

After completing his fifty, Duminy (61 not out) opened up and smashed Bravo for a four and a six, pushing the accelerator button. The 40-ball knock of the left hander included four fours and three sixes. Philander (13 not out) also chipped in with a big hit over the mid-wicket boundary.

Interestingly, Cobras could manage just two runs of the last over bowled by Ravi Rampaul. Rampaul bowled full and straight and didn’t let the batsmen get anything away and the last over made a huge difference in the end as the Cobras probably were short by 10-15 runs when they walked out to defend. For T&T, Simmons was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 17 off his 3 overs.

The T&T approach to batting has been sheer entertainment during the Champions League and they did not let the pressure of chasing 175 in a semi-final cramp their style. The Caribbean side made a blazing start to their chase as William Perkins (20) and Adrian Barath (29) added 53 in the first five overs. The returning Charl Langeveldt bowled two cheap overs and it was Monde Zondeki who had a firsthand experience of the Caribbean fury.

Barath creamed Zondeki for two fours and a six in his first over, and Perkins smashed him for three boundaries in his second over as the poor paceman ended up giving away 30 runs out of 38 on the board. Rory Kleinvedlt was welcomed with a four by Perkins and Barath got into action with a four and six before a terrible mix up between the duo resulted in run out of Perkins.

Duminy was called in to roll his arm over and he struck with his second ball, trapping Barath in front of the wickets and the two openers were back in the pavilion in quick succession. Lendl Simmons (20) hit Claude Henderson for a massive six over long-off and got two lives when he was dropped by Henry Davids once off Henderson and few balls later off Duminy. Justin Ontong finally got rid of Simmons on the first ball of his spell when he had him caught by Kleinveldt at mid-wicket.

The match was evenly balanced as the Caribbean side had lost three wickets at the half-way mark but Bravo and Ganga batted fearlessly and took the match away from the South Africans, who were let down by some poor fielding. Bravo’s knock of 58 not out was laced with four fours and three sixes while Daren Ganga’s unbeaten knock of 44 was studded with one four and two sixes. The duo shared 93 runs for the fourth wicket off just 55 balls to take their home with 4 balls to spare.

Trinidad and Tobago will now face off against the New South Wales Blues in the final at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad.

Brief Scores:

Trinidad & Tobago 178 for 3 (Bravo 58*, Ganga 44*, Ontong 1-14) beat Cape Cobras 175 for 5 (Duminy 61*, Gibbs 42, Simmons 2-17) by seven wickets

Man of the Match: Dwayne Bravo

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

“What I have seen in India is Bollywood, whereas we are more Under Milk Wood,” Nash said, referring to a Thomas Dylan play for radio. “If you compare the match we played against the Deccan Chargers, the spectator experience was like an Elvis Presley concert.”

“I think back to Twenty20 finals day at Edgbaston and it was like watching Des O’Connor. It was very flat and very uninspiring,” the Somerset boss told ‘Telegraph Sport’.

Nash said there was a huge difference in the way Twenty20 is promoted in India and England and the gap needed to be bridged. “We have to think long and hard about how we improve the customer experience. When you go to India and sit in a stadium that is full, the contrast between that and the way we offer up T20 cricket could hardly be starker,” he said.

Nash said he did not believe in blindly copying the Indian model but insisted things need to improve in England. “I’m not saying we need the full Bollywood treatment. That might not be right, but we have to do better than we have so far. In Twenty20 cricket we have been shown a clean pair of heels and we have a lot of work to do to get ourselves back on their level,” he said.

“I used to think we had done well to get 6,000 Somerset fans in England. We have to set ourselves much more ambitious targets for reaching fans in India and work out how we reach out to them. Cricket is business in India and our business is cricket,” Nash said.

He also thought that the English cricket board had not succeeded in cashing in on the newest slam-bang format and he blamed their orthodox mindset for that. “People have said T20 is yet another English invention which we have allowed others to capitalise on. We have been slow to move but we are trying to move a juggernaut which is the England and Wales cricket set-up,” he said. “A lot of members are still on smelling salts that we are playing with a white ball.”

Blame it all on the pitch! There was no grass on the pitch whatsoever. The ball wasn’t coming on to the bat and the track offered a low bounce to the ball. T20 batters hate such pitches and bowlers love them.

Andrew Puttick, the Cape Cobras skipper won the toss and elected to field.

For the Delhi Daredevils, Dilshan opened the batting along with skipper Gautam Gambhir and both batsmen failed terribly in front of a meagre home crowd. Gambhir continued his dismal form in the tournament. Gambhir, who has been awarded ICC Test Player of 2009 award, has produced a shameful 18 runs from the four games he played at an average of 4.5. As for this game, he was clean bowled by Kleinveldt during the second over for a miserable duck. 

Two deliveries before, Kleinveldt also shattered Dilshan’s stumps and Daredevils were reduced to 4 for 2 in the second over. Manoj Tiwary and Dinesh Karthik managed to not give their wickets away as they scored at a slow rate and took the total for 44 in the 9^th over when Tiwary was bowled by a deceiving delivery from Henderson. Immediately, Karthik was run out by Canning but he relieved the crowds somewhat with an aggressive 23 off 24 deliveries. Owais Shah also contributed to this run out. Shah played a sensible innings of unbeaten 39, the highest total for Daredevils. Kleinveldt and Justin Ontong claimed 2 wickets each fort the Cape Cobras.

Cape Cobras, very unlike the other matches they played in the tournament, displayed a disappointing batting performance.

Andrew Puttick opened the batting along with Herschelle Gibbs. Gibbs along with Ryan Canning made their way back into the team for Cobras. Expectations from Gibbs are always high but he failed to deliver. Gambhir had judged the pitch conditions in Delhi well and knew that using a spinner will make things easier for him. Dilshan took the first bite of the cherry and took Gibbs’ wicket on a straight delivery. Gibbs went down as leg before wicket without scoring any run, on the only delivery he faced.

Andrew Puttick departed soon scoring only 6 runs as he was clean bowled by Nannes. Henry Davids and JP Duminy gave some momentum to the Cobras innings as they scored 22 and 14 respectively. Thereafter, the entire batting line up collapsed.

Cobras’ innings was wrapped up for only 84 runs during the 18^th over, the least the tournament has yet seen. For Daredevils, Nannes achieved the best bowling figures, conceding 19 runs for 4 wickets in four overs. Dilshan, Mishra and Nagar claimed 2 wickets each. Cobras lost the match, leaving an already ousted Daredevils on a high note.

This loss against the Daredevils might be a blessing in disguise for the Cobras as they get to play on a far better track in Hyderabad against Trinidad and Tobago.

Brief Scores: Delhi Daredevils 119 for 4 (Shah 39*) beat Cape Cobras 86 all out (Nannes 3-19) by 30 runs

Player of the match: Owais Shah of Delhi Daredevils

In what can be called a spectacular batting performance, Perkins, Barath, Simmons, Pollard, and Stewart of T&T entertained the crowds by ravaging Eagles bowlers and ensured their position in the semifinals. T&T are likely to play their semi final game against either Cape Cobras or Victoria.

It rained runs in Hyderabad, as over 400 runs were scored in one T20 game. Even with no international players in the team, Diamond Eagles managed to put up a worthy fight, at least better than the three IPL teams that failed to make any mark whatsoever in the series at home.

Very similar to the Cape Cobras, it seems that Trinidad and Tobago had a lot of good talent sitting outside the field in the tournament. This point was convincingly proven by Adrian Barath, who debuted in the tournament, as Darren Bravo was unfit. He did justice to the opportunity given to him by the captain. With the help of four sixes and four fours, Barath hammered 63 off just 41 deliveries as he opened the innings with Perkins.

Earlier, T&T won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that helped them secure a place in the semi finals. Darren Ganga, the T&T skipper expressed his delight of playing in India and bonding with the crowd saying that the Indian crowd has already adopted them as the home team. He was right. The task before Diamond was already tough, as their skipper Boeta Dippennar admitted. Whatever total T&T build, Eagles had to achieve it with 42 deliveries to spare in order to qualify for the semi finals. As it turned out, Eagles reached nowhere near this target, thanks to T&T’s massive score.

Perkins and Barath opened the T&T innings and raced to 66 in a matter of 6.4 overs, when they lost their first wicket in the form of Perkins as he was cleanbowled by Tshabalala. Perhaps they thought that this would slow down the rampage, but to their dismay, Simmons immediately hammered a full toss from him for a six and a four off his next delivery. Barath, who was playing silently till then, suddenly wanted to compete for runs and he hammered Tshabalala for a boundary and reached his 50. From 66, the duo took the total to 142 in 14th over when Simmons was bowled by McLaren. He scored 40 from off 25 deliveries. With 17 more runs on the board, Barath departed as he was clean bowled by du Preez. Pollard and Stewart took the charge of the situation and improved it further. Pollard scored a quick 23 from 11 deliveries. With the help of 3 fours and 3 sixes, Stewart hammered 33 off just 11 deliveries. Dwayne Bravo and Stewart took the score to 213 with an unbeaten partnership.

For Diamond Eagles, Morne Van Wyk opened the batting with Rilee Rossouw. If they had any hope to make it to the semis, it would be only by big hitting. Both made a threatening start to the innings by reaching a total of 54 in just 3.4 overs. Rilee played a hopeful innings of 44 off 19 deliveries with five fours and three sixes. Morne Van Wyk supported him well by scoring 25 off 14 deliveries which included 3 fours in a row off Sherwin Ganga, who also claimed his wicket.

The rest of the Eagles batting line up continued fighting a losing battle and in the end managed to put up a highly respectable score of 189. Du Preez and skipper Dippennar scored 35 and 33 each, but Dippennar played a much quicker innings than Du Preez. For T&T Pollard and Sherwin Ganga claimed 2 wickets each conceding 25 runs each.

Trinidad and Tobago emerged as an indefatigable team in this electrifying game.

Brief scores: Trinidad and Tobago 213 for 4 (Barath 63, Simmons 40) defeated Eagles 189 for five (Rilee Rossouw 44, Du Preez 35) by 24 runs

Player of the match: Adrian Barath of Trinidad and Tobago

Earlier during the day, Cape Cobras defeated Victoria by 8 wickets which ensured that Bangalore Royal Challengers were ousted from the tournament on account of a poor run rate. The game was meaningless for the Challengers as far as their chances of entering semi-finals were concerned. Contrastingly, Delhi Daredevils found themselves in a do-or-die situation as they required winning both their games, against and Challengers and the Cape Cobras. With their loss against Challengers, Daredevils exited the Airtel Champions League T20.

The Royal Challengers won the toss and elected to field, paying respect to the changing pitch conditions. An experienced Anil Kumble knew that the track would slow down eventually.

For the Delhi Daredevils, Gambhir and Sehwag opened the innings. The due held the promise of their trademark firework style batting, but only partly delivered. Gambhir played a slow innings while Sehwag punished the bowlers. Sehwag indeed gave Delhi early momentum as he scored a quick 47 from 29 deliveries, hitting six fours and a six. But the party didn’t last long as Gambhir was caught by Boucher off Steyn for 11 and Sehwag was caught by Pandey off van der Merwe.

Thereafter the Delhi innings slumped and the scoring rate dropped, as wickets fell at regular intervals. Karthik departed for only 2 as he succumbed to a straight delivery from Kumble, the birthday boy. With no other big score from the rest of the batting line up, Delhi Daredevils had to settle for a non challenging score of 138 in 20 overs. For the Royal Challengers, Anil Kumble claimed 3 wickets conceding a meagre 20 runs from four overs.

Overall, it looked as if both teams competed for worst fielding performance… and Delhi won the race.

Bangalore Royal Challengers had an unspectacular start as they lost their first wicket on 15 in the form of Uthappa, who unsuccessfully pulled a Nannes delivery and was caught by Mishra. Before Uthappa departed, Pandey was declared retired hurt due a muscle pull. After the fall of early wickets, Rahul Dravid provided stability to the innings and he was joined by Ross Taylor, the player of the match. The duo laid the foundation for a comprehensive win by putting together a massive 93 run partnership for the 2nd wicket and took the score to 108 in 13 overs. Challengers had pocketed the game by then.

Ross Taylor player a spectacular innings and entertained the home crowd. Taylor hammered Glenn McGrath for three boundaries in this opening over and set the tone for his batting, however he fumbled to some short length deliveries from Nannes. Delhi Daredevils could have put an end to Taylor’s heroics a couple of times, but he was dropped in two consecutive overs. Ashish Nehra seemed to be hell bent on demonstrating his worst fielding performance as he dropped Taylor and generally fumbled on the outfield. The crowd cheered to every shot from Taylor, as he was their only entertainment in an otherwise pointless match, since the Challengers were already out of the trophy.

After Taylor’s departure, Virat Kohli continued his job. Kohli hammered 25 off just 10 deliveries. Dravid scored unbeaten 32 off 26 deliveries and along with Kohli, sealed the victory for Royal Challengers during the 16th over.

As for the performance of the IPL teams in their home country in the Airtel Champion’s league T20, it was utterly disappointing.

Brief Score: Royal Challengers Bangalore 139 for 2 (Ross Taylor 65, Rahul Dravid 32*) defeated Delhi Daredevils 138 for 6 (Sehwag 47, Kumble 3 for 20) by eight wickets

Player of the match: Ross Taylor of Bangalore Royal Challengers

Cape Cobras’ win also increased the anxiety levels for the Delhi Daredevils as they would need to win both their remaining games to qualify for the semis. In a dramatic turn of events, in the next game, the Daredevils were defeated by angry Royal Challengers and that ended the challenges of IPL teams in the tournament altogether.

Because of a security concern in the stadium, the match started with a delay and had to be reduced to 17 overs. That didn’t affect the audience turnout as they showed up in good numbers. Presence of explosives was suspected at the venue and Bangalore police detained an under-22 cricketer… nevertheless the match was given a go, although investigations were on.

Henry Davids starred in a lively game with his unbeaten 69 off 54 deliveries. For the third wicket, Davids and JP Duminy contributed 88 runs and saw their team through victory.

Earlier, having won the toss, the Victorians chose to bat. Victoria had a disastrous start. Quiney and Hodge, both known for their hitting power, opened the innings and but were shown their way back to the pavilion in a matter a three deliveries without scoring a single run. After first three deliveries, Victoria stood at 2 for 0. Hodge and Blizzard tried controlling the situation but without much success.

Victorians lost their third wicket during the fourth over in the form of Blizzard who managed to score a quick 22 with the help of 5 fours in 16 deliveries. Hussey departed during the tenth over caught of Duminy by Kleinveldt at 19. Skipper Cameron White along with Andrew McDonald took the innings forward with a 35 run partnership. McDonald and Mathew Wade took Victoria to 125 with an unbeaten partnership.

For the Cape Cobras, with Herschelle Gibbs and Ryan Canning missing the match, Derek Brands played his first match of the tournament. Brand didn’t seem to be afraid of the big stage as he played confidently. His sides’ winning form reflected in his confidence. Cape Cobras seems to discover new talents or churn out hidden talents each time they play in the Airtel Champions League T20.

With a total of 126 to chase, the Cape Cobras entered the ground confidently but made a mediocre start. Andrew Puttick departed for 4 and Derek Brands scored 29. Derek Brands entertained the crowds with some good hitting. For his 29, he took only 15 deliveries and scored 5 fours and a six. He was run out by McKay in a confusion but he had, by then, laid the foundation of an easy chase of Cape Cobras who never seemed to be under any pressure whatsoever.

Then entered Henry Davids, the star of game! Along with JP Duminy, Davids put a strong and unbeaten 88 run partnership for the third wicket and the due wrapped up the game in 16 overs. Davids hammered the leg spinner Jon Holland for two sixes and overall seven fours in his innings of unbeaten 69 off 54 deliveries. Duminy routinely offered his strike and Davids continued his big hitting. Cape Cobras won by 8 wickets.

With all the IPL teams out of the tournaments, the Indians audience can now watch the remaining tournaments objectively. The Champions League T 20 will be seen as a platform that launched many a domestic cricketers around the globe, on the international stage.

Brief scores: Cape Cobras 129 for two in 16 overs (Henry Davids 69*, D Brands 29) beat Victoria Bushrangers 125 for 5 in 17 overs (Andrew McDonald 29*) by 8 wickets

Player of the match: Henry Davids of Cape Cobras