Sydney Sixers complete hat-trick of victories in CLT20

By Sheriff Michaels

Sydney Sixers into Semi-Finals of Champions League Twenty20 2012

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 19, 2012: Big Bash League’s Sydney Sixers recorded their third successive victory in the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Thursday to book them a place in semi-finals of the competition.

The Sydney Sixers defeated South Africa’s Highveld Lions by five wickets at Newlands in Cape Town which means they have won three of their four matches. After defeating Chennai Super Kings, Yorkshire, and Highveld Lions, the Sydney Sixers have left their only game against Mumbai Indians who are on the brink of elimination following a series of dismal performances.

Batting first, Highveld Lions could manage 137 for nine from their 20 overs and Sydney Sixers achieved the target from 19 overs for the loss of five wickets.

Sydney Sixers captain Brad Haddin won the toss and decided to bowl first keeping in mind Highveld Lions’ liking to chase down scores and his decision proved quite right by his bowlers.

Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the star of the show for the Sydney Sixers as he bagged three wickets for 19 runs from his four overs but Josh Hazlewood did the early damage as he finished with two for 18 from his four.

Gulam Bodi (61 from 44 – 4 fours, 3 sixes) once again clubbed bowlers on the favored leg-side consistently but he lacked support from the other end as skipper Alviro Petersen (5 from 6), Quanton de Kock (4 from 14), Niel McKenzie (17 from 16 – 2 fours), and Zander de Bruyn (4 from 10) all failed to impose themselves at the crease.

A late cameo by Jean Symes (23 from 16 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Chris Morris (14 not out from 9 – 2 fours) helped the Highveld Lions to a fighting total of 137 for nine.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, who was playing his last match in the Champions League Twenty20 2012, once again delivered with the ball and bat as he not only took two wickets for 25 runs but also made quick-fired 47 runs from mere 38 deliveries hitting four boundaries and three sixes.

Sydney Sixers openers Michael Lumb (22 from 22- 4 fours) and Shane Watson (47 from 38 – 4 fours, 3 sixes) gave their side a useful start by scoring 60 runs for the opening partnership from 8.3 overs before left-arm off-spinner Aaron Phangiso came on his own.

Aaron Phangiso first got rid of Michael Lumb and then removed Dominic Thornley on a first-ball-duck. Soon he captured the prized scalp of Shane Watson and brought his side back into the contention.

However, Sydney Sixers skipper Brad Haddin (32 from 21 – 1 four, 3 sixes) and Steven Smith (25 not out from 25 – 2 fours) made sure that the good work of openers doesn’t get wasted and despite of losing another couple of wickets towards the end of the innings they managed to achieve the target from final delivery of the 19^th over.

Dirk Nannes bowled beautifully for a spell of one for 16 from four overs while Aaron Phangiso was the pick of the bowlers for the Highveld Lions as he captured three wickets for 14 runs from his four overs. Rest of the bowlers were pretty ordinary with Pakistani left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir (4-0-29-0) once again failed to impress while Jean Symes was belted hard by the Sydney batsmen as he leaked 36 runs from three overs. Chris Morris also proved an expensive option as he gave away 35 runs from his three overs.

Mitchell Starc was declared Man of the Match for yet another staggering spell of fast bowling and he told the presentation party, “Playing a lot and working on a few little things, ball is coming out of the hand nicely. Like bowling at the death! Wickets in Colombo [during the ICC World Twenty20] were nice for the quicks early on. Good to bowl here with the pace and bounce. All of us [Sixers fast bowlers] are good mates."

Sydney Sixers skipper Brad Haddin said, "We didn’t start well with the ball, we fought back well, happy with the total we got to chase. We have got good cover for Watson, wish him well for the Test series. Yes, we are thinking about the semi-finals now."

Highveld Lions captain Alviro Petersen stated, "Just a couple of bad overs with bat and ball. T20 cricket is all about that. Phangiso is an underrated bowler, he has done well for us in the past couple of years."

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CLT20: Bowlers, Haddin help Sydney Sixers decimate Yorkshire

By Sheriff Michaels

An Imposing Victory Takes Sydney Sixers into Semi-Final of Champions League Twenty20 2012

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 16, 2012: A professional and dominating show by bowlers and blend of aggression and class by batsmen helped Australian Big Bash League’s Sydney Sixers to an astounding victory over England’s Yorkshire County Cricket Club in their Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 played at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The victory also took the Sydney Sixers into Semi-Final of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 as they now have won both of their matches and Tuesday’s massive victory has boosted their net run-rate enough to make sure they end on top of the table.

A Captain's Knock by Brad Haddin

Sydney Sixers restricted the Yorkshire on 96 for nine from their 20 overs before overhauling the target for the loss of only two wickets with 67 balls to spare.

Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale won the toss and decided to bat first to give his bowlers a good total to defend against a high-flying Sixers batting line-up.

However, it wasn’t to be! The crucial Group B match proved a show of the worst and the best by batsmen of the both sides as on a pitch where Yorkshire batsmen failed to find their feet, Sydney Sixers top order batsmen enjoyed the bouncy nature of the track and expressed their skills freely.

Yorkshire opening pair of skipper Andrew Gale (8 from 18 – 1 four) and Phil Jaques (21 from 19 – 4 fours) failed to produce a rollicking start as both were back in the hut with total at 30 runs from 6.2 overs.

Joe Root (15 from 24 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Adam Lyth (18 from 25 – 1 four) tried to stabilize the dwindling ship but they could never find that acceleration button in their armor and scoring rate remained under five runs per over for the best part of the innings with wickets falling consistently.

Gary Ballance (8 from 17), Adil Rashid (1 from 2), Dan Hodgson (7 from 7 – 1 four), and Azeem Rafiq (Duck) all failed to find boundary rather regularly and when Mitchell Starc clean-bowled Steven Patterson (2 from 3) it was all over for Yorkshire who were restricted to 96 for nine from their share of 20 overs.

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc captured three wickets for 22 runs while Pat Cummins and Shane Watson grabbed two wickets apiece for 22 and 27 runs, respectively. Josh Hazlewood also bowled tremendously well during a miser spell as he gave away only nine runs from his four overs for a wicket. Moises Henriques also looked good with figures of one for 10 from his two overs.

Shane Watson further augments his reputation

The 97-run target was never a challenging task for a team like Sydney Sixers, especially on a bouncy pitch at Newlands.

Although, Shane Watson (11 from 6 – 1 four, 1 six) failed to utilize the beautiful batting conditions, Michael Lumb (43 not out from 24 – 8 fours) and Brad Haddin (41 from 21 – 8 fours) pounced on the opportunity and added 78 runs for the second wicket from mere 42 balls to take Yorkshire completely out of contention.

The Sydney Sixers completed the target from fifth delivery of the eighth over which means they achieved their target with 67 balls to spare.

Brad Haddin was declared Man of the Match for his exhibition of a blend of class and aggression with the bat.

Yorkshire completely blown away!

Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale said at the presentation ceremony, "150-160 would have been a good score. But we didn't get off to a good start, and we were chasing the game from thereon. We have learned valuable lessons from today, have three games left, and will hopefully reverse the result on Thursday."

Brad Haddin, who is also skipper of the Sydney Sixers, told the interviewer after receiving his Man of the Match award, “We had a few things we needed to work on after the first game. The best thing about the three fast bowlers was they bowled differently, presenting different challenges to the batsmen. I am pretty lucky they are all looking to have a go. We still got to get better and better as the tournament goes on."

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CLT20: Super Azhar Mahmood lifts Auckland Aces over KKR

By Sheriff Michaels

Azhar Mahmood keeps reminding PCB of his worth at Champions League T20

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 15, 2012: A match-winning performance by Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood helped Auckland Aces defeat Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders by a comfortable margin of seven wickets with 14 balls to spare in Group A match of the Champions League World Twenty20 2012 played at Newlands in Cape Town on Monday.

Azhar Mahmood took three wickets for 16 runs before executing the job with the bat by scoring unbeaten 51 runs from 42 balls as the Kolkata Knight Riders are now on the brink of crashing out of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 after witnessing two defeats in as many matches.

Gautam Gambhir, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, won the toss and decided to bat first expecting the pitch to offer more purchase to his seamers in the night.

Gautam Gambhir (5 from 9 – 1 four) fell early once again but Manvinder Bisla (38 from 24 – 6 fours, 1 six) and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum (40 from 35 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) launched an effective counterattack scoring 62 runs from only 41 balls.

However, once their partnership was broken by Ronnie Hira in the ninth over, Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins asked Pakistani star all-rounder Azhar Mahmood to deliver some overs.

The medium-pacer started with a double-wicket maiden where he got rid of South African quality all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Duck) and Manoj Tiwary (Duck) as the Kolkata Knight Riders lost the momentum completely.

Soon Azhar Mahmood also sent Brendon McCullum back in the pavilion as the KKR innings fell apart and Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (15 from 22) and Yusuf Pathan (22 from 19 – 2 fours) had to resort to damage-control which never allowed them to use the long handle freely.

In the end, the Kolkata Knight Riders could only limp to a total of 137 for six from their 20 overs.

Azhar Mahmood took three wickets for 16 runs to lead Auckland Aces’ bowlers while Kyle Mills (1/23), Michael Bates (1/33), and Ronnie Hira (1/30) also bowled pretty well and none of the bowlers was over-expensive.

Chasing 138 for an impressive victory, the Auckland Acers opening batsmen came out in the middle with an effective plan and assaulted medium-paced bowling attack of Kolkata Knight Riders after Gautam Gambhir opted to sit his premier fast bowler Brett Lee out in the dug-out.

Martin Guptill (25 from 26 – 3 fours) and Lou Vincent (30 from 12 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) came out with all guns blazing and belted Lakshmipathy Balaji and Shakib Al Hasan all across the Newlands and raised to 37 from only three overs before Lou Vincent was captured by none other than Sunil Narine.

Azhar Mahmood (51 not out from 42 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) came at one-down position and he used his wits to stabilize the innings after fall of both the openers and with Anaru Kitchen (24 from 15 – 3 fours, 1 six) took the Auckland Aces close to victory before having company of Colin de Grandhomme (9 not out from 11 – 1 four) to execute a fine chase in Cape Town.

There was nothing much to talk about the KKR bowlers as Lakshmipathy Balaji went for 38 from his four overs for a wicket, Shakib Al Hasan gave away 34 from his four, and Pradeep Sangwan leaked 26 runs from his 16 deliveries. Sunil Narine was their most successful bowler as he took two wickets for 24 runs while Jacques Kallis also kept his line and length and let only 17 runs to slip away from his three overs.

Azhar Mahmood was declared Man of the Match for his brilliance with both bat and ball. This was his second consecutive Man of the Match award in the Champions League Twenty20 2012.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said at the presentation ceremony, “Once you get the momentum you've got to continue. How they played in the first over gave them momentum. We need to play smart cricket, some better cricket and hopefully we can win both our remaining games”.

Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins stated, “Bowlers are picked to do a job so I back them. We do have part timers, but didn't need them today. We got off to a good start with the bat and we left it to the master Mahmood to finish it off as well as he does”.

Man of the Match Azhar Mahmood said, “We bowled really well as a unit. We prepared really well, two weeks before the tournament and it's paid off. Martin Guptill and Louie started off really well and I was able to finish off. Hopefully I can keep my form going”.

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