Jacques Kallis showed technical prowess, Yusuf Pathan great power, but the pugnacious Roelof van der Merwe mastered the slow and low track the best to help Somerset chase a daunting 162. Kolkata Knight Riders’ late surge with both bat and ball made them work hard for the win, Kolkata looted 78 off the last six overs, and quick wickets meant Somerset had to struggle for 43 off their last seven.
Even when Kallis and Yusuf went berserk, van der Merwe was the only man to hold his own. He went for just 14 from the 18th and 20 overs despite two dropped catches, one of which went for four. With the bat in hand he was an absolute jack in the box, reverse-sweeping sixes, managing to mishit over the infield, drop-kicking his favourite cricketer Kallis over midwicket, late-cutting the spinners delicately, and scoring the third-fastest Champions league fifty.
It would have been easy for Somerset to feel disheartened after part-timer Arul Suppiah conceded 30 off the 15th over, or feel hard done by Brett Lee’s getting away with clear overhead bouncers and Alfonso Thomas’ being penalised for a border-line slower bouncer with Kallis down on his knees. Especially when Thomas followed that harsh call with a high full toss that Kallis duly deposited for a six.
Warriors crush Redbacks: JJ Smuts’ blistering 88 and an impressive show by the bowlers helped Warriors crush South Australian Redbacks by 50 runs and record their second consecutive win in the Champions League Twenty20 on Sunday. Electing to bat, Warriors rode on a strokeful 65-ball 88 by Smuts to post a challenging 171 for five before their bowlers came up a disciplined show to restrict South Australia to 121 for six at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Warriors’ had beaten Royal Challengers Bangalore by three wickets on September 23 in their opening Group B match. South Australia struggled from the very beginning in their run chase of 172 as they were down 35 for three inside six overs and they never recovered from there with wickets falling at regular intervals. Fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe snapped two wickets for 30 runs while Smuts, Rusty Theron, Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell took a wicket apiece.
SCORES: Somerset 164 for 5 (van der Merwe 73, Trego 28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 161 for 3 (Kallis 74*, Yusuf 39*, Gregory 2-9) by five wickets. Warriors 171 for 5 (Smuts 88, Harris 2-23) beat South Australia 121 for 6 (Klinger 34, Tsotsobe 2-30) by 50 runs.
