Challengers march on
October 08, 2011 10:12:30 UK
To chase down a record score to reach the semi-final and then record over 200 to reach the final marks Royal Challengers Bangalore down as an exceptional side.
Virat Kohli will be key in the final.They appear not to switch on until the trap door starts to open, and in the last two competitions they have started with two defeats before Chris Gayle has started the revival. This year it started against possible final opponents Somerset and then they recorded that miraculous victory over South Australia and followed up by humbling New South Wales.
The Challengers are 1.72 to win the tournament while Somerset are 4.50 and Mumbai Indians are 2.10.
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Dan Harris hit a century for South Australia and David Warner hit a ton for New South Wales but it only served to add to the crowd's enjoyment. Warner became the first player to score centuries in successive games of T20 but to no avail. In their previous match Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virat Kohli had the big stand but Dilshan perished early on this occasion only for Gayle to smash a vital 92 and Kohli stayed after the stand of 141 to steer the side over the winning line with 84.
Mohammad Kaif hit the winning boundary and his inclusion added stability after the hint of a second collapse in successive games.
Whatever the outcome of the final it is unlikely to require a total of 200 to win as the wicket in Chennai is not as batsman friendly. The Challengers' weak areas are a poor bowling attack and they are still probably a batsman light. The more bowler-friendly conditions in Chennai will test these areas but with big time players like Gayle, Dilshan and Kohli they are obviously a tough team to defeat.
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