Trinidad & Tobago pulled off a huge surprise on Somerset Sabres in Bangalore, with the help of an unusual three-pronged spin attack comprising chinaman bowler Dave Mohammad, leggie Samuel Badree and offie Sherwin Ganga.
But it will need an outstanding effort on its part to beat local favourite Deccan Chargers in its second match of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday.
Chargers is facing a must-win situation to qualify for the second phase, but hopes are high especially since it will be playing on a pitch which once again promises to be a perfect T20 wicket (according to curator Y. L. Chandrasekhar).
Gamble pays off
The success of the West Indian outfit against Somerset in its first league match can be juxtaposed against the fact that typically most English batsmen struggle against quality spin bowling. So, when captain Daren Ganga came up with the tactic of a three-man spin attack, it was a gamble which paid off. And Dwyane Bravo’s lion hearted effort which saw him snap up four wickets, also had a major impact on the course of the match.
But against a team which has in its line-up the likes of Adam Gilchrist, the classy stroke player V.V.S. Laxman, big-hitting Andrew Symonds and the talented young Tirumalasetty Suman and Rohit Sharma, any attack will have to raise the bar quite considerably.
It is not that Trinidad cannot pull off another surprise, but it will have to come up with a special performance against the charged up host.
The net run-rates are as follows: Chargers - 0.200 with no points, Somerset -1.00 with two points and Trinidad and Tobago + 2.200 with two points.
Confident lot
Chargers looked confident during its training session on Tuesday.
Assistant coach Kanwaljit Singh said that the team has the ability to bounce back. “Yes, to lose eight matches at our home venue is terrible. But, one win can change the whole scenario,” he said.
From Trinidad’s point of view, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Daren Ganga along with Denesh Ramdin, who top-scored against Somerset, hold the key in batting though there are several others who are capable of coming up with telling performances.
