Friday 23 September 2011

As fast as a T20 game

Well it has been just three days since the third edition of the Champions league T20 tournament has begun and one has to wonder how fast days have gone that the second round of the tournament has already begun or will be happening in the next 24 hours or so. Speaking statistics, till date there have been just 6 games with two each played per day. Already there are two teams that have been ousted from the tournament when Ruhuna lost their first game to Trinidad & Tobago and fell short of a run rate in their next game against Leicestershire.

On the other hand, Auckland have lost both their games; the first one against Kolkata Knight Riders and the second one at the hands of Somerset in the second day after the tournament began. Kolkata Knight Riders should consider themselves lucky enough for getting past the initial stage with a narrow win against Auckland which they won by just 2 runs before losing to Somerset by 11 runs. Trinidad and Tobago along with Somerset have won both their encounters with Kolkata Knight Riders winning just one. Auckland are the only team to head back home without any wins in hand.

Last but not the least, we have Ruhuna who have one consolation win and a loss against their name but will still head back home with just that. However, being an Indian, it was a fortune that the Kolkata Knight Riders had when the ICC allowed four nations to take part in the champions league tournament. Adding to that fortune, they made it to the next round with just one win and that too by just two runs against Auckland. However, with so many teams yet to make their presence in the tournament and with so many matches to come, one has to just wait and watch.

With the Ruhana team calling it an end, so would be Sanath Jayasuriya who is still seen playing T20 cricket though international team selectors have retired him long ago some three years back. In this tournament, one can see Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Superkings who are outstanding contenders for the trophy. Likewise, there are teams from other nations as well like Warriors, Cape Cobras, South Australia and New South Wales standing for the trophy. One can sense any team from Pakistan missing from the action. And, having four teams from India alone makes it just sick. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka have one team with England two.

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