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Redemption time for Indian boys

8 October 2012

‘Sehwag fit’
NEW DELHI, 8 OCT: Delhi Daredevils opener Virender Sehwag has been declared fit to play in the Champions League T20 tournament but could miss the team's first match, against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The explosive batsman will leave for Johannesburg in a couple of days, it was said today. Sehwag will, however, be subjected to another examination of his troublesome left ankle after reaching South Africa. He hurt it while celebrating the dismissal of South Africa’s Jacques Kallis in a Twenty20 World Cup match. agencies

press trust of india
JOHANNESBURG, 8 OCT: Some 20 days of high-voltage cricket in Sri Lanka having ended in a title triumph for the West Indies, it will be an opportunity for some of the Indian boys, who missed out on a semi-final berth in the Twenty20 World Cup, to redeem themselves when the Champions League Twenty20 championship starts here tomorrow.
The league will have four Indian Premier League franchisees -- Indian Premier League-winners Kolkata Knight Riders, defending champions Mumbai Indians, the Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings -- vying for the title. Action starts with the qualifying round, which begins with a match between Sri Lanka's Uva Next and England's Yorkshire, both of whom are making their debuts in the cash-rich tournament. The encounter between Thilina Kandamby's squad and Andrew Gale's contingent will be followed by a clash between the Auckland Aces and the Sialkot Stallions, who too are in it for the first time.
Six teams, that are trying to make it to the main tournament, have been put into two different pools with the top one from each group advancing to the next stage. While Pool 1 consists of New Zealand's Auckland Aces, England's Hampshire and Pakistan's Sialkot Stallions, Pool 2 includes Trinidad and Tobago, Uva and Yorkshire.
The Indians, though, will not be seen in action before the main tournament, which starts on 13 October, when Gautam Gambhir's KKR take on the Delhi Daredevils.
The Daredevils have yet to prove their worth in this championship and it will also be an opportunity for their new skipper, Mahela Jayawardene, to redeem himself after losing the final of the World Twenty20 championship to the Caribbean side.
The 35-year-old was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the side after Virender Sehwag had reportedly requested the team management to be relieved of the burden of captaincy so that he could concentrate on his batting. Jayawardene, however, stepped down as captain of the Sri Lankan Twenty20 side after losing to the West Indies. It remains to be seen how he handles the Daredevils against the world's top Twenty20 sides.
The Knight Riders will be eager to prove that their victory in the IPL was no fluke but a well-deserved result.
The side boast such big names as Brendon McCullum and Jacques Kallis, apart from a good mix of Indian players, and will definitely look to better their record in the tournament.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings and Harbhajan Sigh's Mumbai Indians are strong contenders.
Both have tasted success in this championship earlier, with CSK winning the 2010 edition and MI emerging at the top a year later.
The championship will also feature South Africa's Highveld Lions and Titans and Australia's Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers in the main round.
Teams: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Highveld Lions, Titans, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers.
Qualifiers: Pool 1: Auckland Aces, Hampshire, Sialkot Stallions; Pool 2: Trinidad & Tobago, Uva Next, Yorkshire.