With the Royal Challengers Bangalore having qualified for the finals of the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 (thanks to Chris Gayle's murderous hitting), attention came to the last of the two semi-finals. England's Somerset surprised everyone by making it this far, while the Sachin Tendulkar-less Mumbai Indians benefitted from some tight escapes and a washed-out game to make it to the semis.
Somerset vs. the Blizzard
Winning the toss, Mumbai's captain Harbhajan Singh put his team in to bat. Aiden Blizzard got off to a quick start, striking three 4s in the second over of the innings to get things moving. Sarul Kanwar didn't last very long, making only 2 as he fell to Steve Kirby, but Blizzard continued his assault, striking the game's first 6 that same over. Ambati Rayudu made a run-a-ball 19 before he was caught behind off Adam Dibble, but Blizzard marched on, reaching his half-century (off 34 balls) with a 6. But with James Franklin making just 6 before falling LBW to Roelof van der Merwe, at 86/3, Somerset were still very much in the game.
Things got better for Somerset when Blizzard was gone the next over, bowled by Murali Karthik for 54. Kieron Pollard took the Mumbai Indians over 100 with a 6, and hit another one before Alfonso Thomas bowled him to keep the game in check at 117/5. But Mumbai came back strongly, with Rajagopal Sathish and Suryakumar Yadav taking 20 runs off a Thomas over to boost their team past 150. The 43-run partnership off 22 balls was enough to see the Mumbai Indians to 160/5 at the end of their 20 overs.
Malinga vs. the wickets
Mumbai's momentum carried over into their defense of their target, with Lasith Malinga castling Peter Trego off just the second ball of the innings. Somerset briefly rallied back, with Craig Kieswetter and Roelof van der Merwe striking boundaries before Malinga bowled the latter. With Somerset in trouble at 17/2, Mumbai were well ahead of the game. Kieswetter and James Hildreth fought back, hitting boundaries regularly and rotating the strike to keep Somerset in the picture.
But with the partnership worth an invaluable 83, and with still 66 runs needed from 42 balls, Harbhajan Singh bowled Hildreth for 39. Somerset now 100/3, but Kieswetter reached his 50 and kept going. Together with Jos Buttler, he brought the equation down to 22 needed from 12 balls, with still seven wickets in hand - eminently possible, but James Franklin bowled a fantastic death over to remove both Buttler for 19 and Kieswetter for a valiant 62 off 46 balls.
Somerset needed 15 off the last 6 balls, but Lasith Malinga bowled Nick Compton and Murali Karthik in successive deliveries to knock Somerset out of the Champions League Twenty20 and take the Mumbai Indians to the final with a 10-run victory.
A Game To Assuage the Purists
So after the audacious hitting of the Bangalore-New South Wales semi-final, Somerset and the Mumbai Indians gave us a good, old fashioned, attritional game of cricket (even in the Twenty20 format). This game was a much more even contest between bat and ball, with the deciding factor being Lasith Malinga, arguably one of the best Twenty20 bowlers in the world today. You can't argue with figures of 4-0-20-4, with all four of his victims being bowled.
The 2011 IPL 'B'
With Somerset eliminated, we're headed for an all-IPL final tomorrow, when the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Mumbai Indians. The game will be in Chennai, like today's semi-final, so it will be fascinating to see how Chris Gayle does against Malinga's pinpoint, slingshot accuracy. Conditions will not be conducive to the blitzkrieg of the previous semi-final, so we should be in for a very interesting game of cricket - ostensibly to decide the best club team in the world, but realistically, deciding the second-best Indian Premiere League franchise in the world.
- Mumbai Indians: 160/5 (Aiden Blizzard 54, Adam Dibble 4-0-20-1) in 20 overs, at 8.00 runs per over
- Somerset: 150/7 (Craig Kieswetter 62, Lasith Malinga 4-0-20-4) in 20 overs, at 7.50 runs per over
- Mumbai Indians win by 10 runs and advance to the finals of the 2011 Champions League Twenty20
- Man of the Match: Lasith Malinga
Scorecard at Cricinfo
Michael Perera - The only rule in writing is honesty. If you're honest, the words will write themselves.
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