Warriors was on song again. South Australian Redbacks captain Michael Klinger's much-touted plans to counter the ‘left-arm menace' of the opponents fell flat as his team suffered a disappointing loss by 50 runs in the Champions League T20 match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.
Double blow
Ironically, it was the double-blow from left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe that crippled Redbacks' chase. He induced opener Daniel Harris to snick an away-going delivery to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and soon deceived Tom Cooper with his pace and bounce to complete a simple return catch off a mistimed pull.
Klinger, at the other end, essayed a sweetly-timed six off left-arm spinner Nicky Boje before he was trapped lbw by off-spinner Johan Botha. In between, Johan Botha and Rusty Theron chipped in with one wicket apiece to reduce the Australian outfit to 70 for five in 10.3 overs.
Later, left-arm spinner Jon-Jon Smuts removed the dangerous-looking Cameron Borgas after being hit for a four and a six in the same over. Another left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell cleaned up wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Ludeman.
In the end, not surprisingly, Warriors notched up its second straight win in this edition.
Smuts sparkles
Earlier, opener Jon-Jon Smuts smashed a 65-ball 88 to help Warriors, electing to bat, post a challenging 171 for five in 20 overs on a pitch which had good bounce and carry.
The 23-year-old Smuts's innings put to shade bigger names in the line-up for sheer improvisation against seemingly good-length balls. He batted with the same degree of freedom and authority against pace and spin.
The way Smuts hit Tait on the rise over mid-off fence, swung him to mid-wicket for another four and pulled for a huge six in one over was proof of his wide range of strokes. Tait helped the batsmen's cause with his erratic spell and except when he cleaned up Ashwell Prince with a swinging yorker in the second over of the innings, he never really threatened.
Useful partnerships
Smuts was involved in two useful partnerships — 73 runs off 52 balls for the second wicket with Colin Ingram and 80 runs for the third wicket off 53 balls with the veteran Mark Boucher. This effectively pushed the Redbacks on the defensive. Smuts eventually gifted his wicket away, scooping straight to short fine-leg off Harris.
However, it was the efficacy of the gentle medium-pace of Harris and Daniel Christian — who between them bowled eight overs giving little width — which scuttled Warriors' hopes of a much bigger total.
The scores:
Warriors: J. Smuts c Tait b Harris 88 (65b, 10x4, 2x6), A. Prince b Tait 3 (2b), C. Ingram c Borgas b Harris 30 (24b, 3x4, 1x6), M. Boucher c Klinger b Christian 34 (26b, 3x4, 1x6), C. Thyssen c O'Brien b Christian 3 (4b), K. Smuts (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-2, w-10, nb-1) 13. Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs) 171.
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-83, 3-163, 4-171, 5-171.
SA Redbacks bowling: Rashid 2-0-18-0, Tait 4-0-53-1, Lyon 2-0-16-0, O'Brien 4-0-35-0, Harris 4-0-23-2, Christian 4-0-24-2.
SA Redbacks: D. Harris c Boucher b Tsotsobe 4 (5b, 1x4), M. Klinger lbw b Botha 34 (29b, 2x4, 1x6), T. Cooper c & b Tsotsobe 3 (5b), C. Ferguson c Ingram b Theron 7 (9b, 1x4), C. Borgas c Tsotsobe b J. Smuts 18 (13b, 1x4, 1x6), D. Christian (not out) 26 (28b, 1x4), T. Ludeman b Parnell 14 (19b, 2x4); A. O'Brien (not out) 6 (12b); Extras (lb-5, w-4) 9. Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs) 121.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-18, 3-35, 4-58, 5-70, 6-107,
Warriors bowling: Tsotsobe 4-0-30-2, J. Smuts 2-0-16-1, Theron 4-0-21-1, Boje 3-0-21-0, Botha 3-0-11-1, Parnell 4-0-17-1.
