The Champions League t20 is nearing its conclusion with only four teams left battling out to lift the trophy at the Wanderers on Sunday, and by the looks of things there won’t be too much for the home crowd to cheer about in Johannesburg.
The two South African teams that remain, the Highveld Lions and the Nashua Titans have done extremely well to reach this stage given the power of the IPL and Big Bash sides that have failed to make it this far, however, they are both about to face about as stern a test as they ever have in this format of the game.
The two other sides making up the semi-final line-up are the only two teams not to have lost a game thus far, the Sidney Sixers who face the Titans and the Delhi Daredevils who take on the Lions.
The Indian side were unlucky with the weather, as the rain cost them two matches, but even though they were the only side to lose two contests to the monsoon season, they still topped their group by two points.
The Sixers had no such problems with the rain and duly put all four opponents to the sword in scarily convincing fashion to lead their group with the maximum 16 points. Their 185 against the Chennai Super Kings is the second highest total of the competition thus far, but if anything it has been their bowling that has been the highlight of their stunning displays. Mitchell Starc in particular has been the dangerman, as he was for Australia in the World t20. He tops the wicket taking charts with 11 in just four matches at an economy of 6.50 which is very acceptable in this format and with the likes of Pat Cummins, Shane Watson and Moises Henriques backing him up, it is a potent attack.
In terms of the Daredevils, it is their batting line-up that will have the Lions worried as it is arguably the best in the competition. Being faced with a top five of Jayawardene, Sehwag, Chand, Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor is not what most bowlers will look forward to and it is very hard to imagine a team boasting these names not registering a decent score.
This is not to write off the South Africans; Jacques Rudolph of the Titans is the tournament’s leading run scorer and the Lions have impressed with the ball especially Aaron Phangiso who has claimed eight wickets. It is quite clear though that the two best sides in the competition come from Sydney and Delhi and barring something of a choke from either, it is those two that will contest what should be a sensational final on Sunday.
Both are odds on to win their contests in the last four, but put them together as a double and Ladbrokes will offer 2.54 on them both to win, which looks a great price.