Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals eased into the semifinals of the Champions League T20, posting a nine-wicket win over Perth Scorchers in their Group A game here on Sunday night. Set a modest 121, the Royals
Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals eased into the semifinals of the Champions League T20, posting a nine-wicket win over Perth Scorchers in their Group A game here on Sunday night. Set a modest 121, the Royals were calm and methodical in their approach as they cruised to the target in 16.3 overs in the onesided encounter. The early wicket of skipper Rahul Dravid -castled by Jason Behrendoff on the fourth ball of the innings -had no real effect, with Ajinkya Rahane (62 not out, 53 balls) and Sanju Samson (50 not out, 42 balls) taking up the responsibility. The duo batted with ease and displayed calm heads as they trudged to the target picking up easy singles and boundaries. Earlier in the evening, Royals bowlers bundled out Perth Scorchers for just 120 in 20 overs. Medium pacer Kevon Cooper troubled the opponents with his pace and nagging deliveries ending with impressive figures of 4/18, while leg-spinner Pravin Tambe (2/17) and James Faulkner (2/16) played perfect foils, keeping Scorchers on the back foot throughout. Super Otago shuts out Lions in thriller DC / Harpreet K Lamba Jaipur: Otago Volts shut out a fighting Highveld Lions in their Group A Champions League T20 thriller here on Sunday afternoon, beating the South Africans by a boundary in the Super Over. It was a tale of two heroes on the day , Lions' Quinton de Kock (109 not out, 63 balls) and James Neesham (52 balls, 25 balls) of Otago, both of whom played their hearts out in an entertaining encounter. With the teams tied at 167 each after their 50 overs, Lions turned to Sohail Tanvir to bowl the Super Over. Neesham and Brendon McCullum managed to collect 13; leaving Lions to score 14 for what would have been their first win of the tournament. De Kock seemed up for the job collecting 11 off the first three balls, but the Lions lost their way from there. Needing just three off the final three balls, Jeans Symes fell on the very first delivery he faced, while Dwaine Pretorius was run out on the final ball of the Super Over (13/2). Otago won on last ball countback, McCullum’s six becoming the deciding stroke of the game, while the Lions ended their campaign with just two points from four games.
