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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

This was Chokers’ Day. A few hours after the Mumbai Indians collapsed from a winning position, thereby denting their semi-final chances, the Chennai Super Kings outdid them as panic struck at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The Bangalore Royal Challengers seemed certain to crash to their sixth successive defeat but even they might struggle to fathom how they pulled off this robbery.It was one-way traffic for most of the game. Chasing a modest 127, Chennai appeared to be in cruise control at 60 for no loss, and later at 85 for 2, but Stephen Fleming’s dismissal induced some panic. Anil Kumble’s inspirational 3 for 14, the best figures for Bangalore in the IPL, played a part before Dale Steyn turned the heat on the lower order. The pitch hardly played a part in this low-scoring match – one where both sets of batsmen tried their best to outdo themselves in throwing it away.Chennai are still in with a good chance of making the semi-finals but this shock defeat yet again exposed their batting’s frailty. Fleming and Parthiv Patel got them off to a rollicking start, cutting and pulling with ease, and there appeared to be no demons in the pitch. Fleming was in fine touch, even against spin, but he refused to ride his luck after Vinay Kumar bowled him off a no-ball. He was out two balls later – sweeping a fast one from Kumble straight into the hands of B Akhil at deep square leg.That was enough to open up the weaknesses in the middle order. Chennai have been over-reliant on S Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the two frittered it away, triggering a wave of recklessness. Dhoni, who promoted himself to No.3, struggled with his timing before a frustrated loft landed in Kumble’s hands at long-on. Badrinath tried a perilous sweep against Kumble, one where he moved across the stumps, and he was to regret it soon as the ball hit him plumb in front.Albie Morkel and S Vidyut fell to Steyn’s pull-trap – both top-edges that reeked of complacency against a bowler who was cranking it up to 145kph – and one only needed to look at the Bangalore fielders’ expression to understand how surprised they were. The startling freeze ended amid farcical scenes – Suresh Raina appeared to be in a daze against his Uttar Pradesh state-mate, Praveen Kumar, and even declined a single when they needed an improbable 16 off 5 balls.Bangalore were pleasantly stunned to end up as party-poopers. Their batsmen let them down earlier in the day with an insipid display. One might have expected them to express themselves more freely, now that they’re out of contention for a semi-final slot, but they continued to plumb the depths.Manpreet Gony and Morkel led a purposeful Chennai bowling effort, utilising the nip in the air, and were backed up by some electric fielding and catching. Bangalore, who chose to bat, never managed any sort of momentum – they even endured a 44-ball phase without a boundary – and the fact that they were the slowest side to reach a 100 summed up the inertia.Gony has enhanced his reputation with every game and it was some sight to see the crowd chant his name in unison. He struck with his fourth ball: pitching it short of a length and angling away from the right-hander, he induced an edge from Jacques Kallis. He forced another edge out of Shreevats Goswami – Gony’s timely maiden forced him into an indiscreet drive in the bowler’s next over. Goswami, rooted to the crease, nicked to the wicketkeeper and walked even as the umpire, I Shivram, failed to detect the edge.Virat Kohli and Misbah-ul-Haq were undone by a couple of sensational catches – Morkel back-pedalling and completing a skier inches from the square-leg boundary, hurting his head in the process, and Parthiv Patel, behind the stumps, pulling off a full-length dive to complete a one-handed take.It was again left to Rahul Dravid to survey the debris and he took his time to consolidate. Five fours reeled off his bat towards the end but Mark Boucher’s dismissal – just when it appeared as if they would string together a partnership – hurt them. Dravid couldn’t last the distance – Dhoni pulled off a fine catch at cover – and the tail didn’t have much of a chance with Morkel keeping it straight. Kumar’s 11-ball 21 was a feeble attempt at making a match out of it but little would he have imagined bowling the last over to win his side the game.

Waqar Younis was retained Pakistan captain till this September’s ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia believed Friday that it was never a difficult decision to make.”The team is doing great and Waqar’s own performance is an inspiration for his boys. I don’t think it is a difficult decision to make,” Tauqir said.Waqar reached the peak of his brief captaincy’s tenure when he led Pakistan to a marvellous 2-1 victory over Australia in the Super Challenge Series-II in Australia.”Of course we are looking at Waqar as potential Pakistan captain for next year’s World Cup. But we have to stick to our policy of series-by-series appointments.”It gives the establishment as well as Waqar himself to monitor his progress. But so far, the PCB is absolutely satisfied with Waqar’s performance and of his team,” Tauqir said.Waqar will now spearhead Pakistan in this month’s Morocco Cup, the golden jubilee tournament in Kenya and finally the Champions Trophy. He will have a minimum of 10 one-day internationals and a maximum of 15 one-dayers to further consolidate his position as captain till the World Cup.”I can’t be more delighted. I feeling is superb and I am over the moon at this stage,” Waqar said from Lahore.”It gives the player an added boost to do better and improve his performance and justify the confidence that has been trusted upon him,” Waqar said.Waqar didn’t mince words in saying that he would like to lead Pakistan in the World Cup – the biggest achievement for any cricketer – but added that leading Pakistan has always been a great honour.”Leading the Pakistan cricket team is something that makes me very proud. It is an honour that very few cricketers have got and I am one of them. “But I must thank my team-mates here without whose cooperation and support I have never been successful. I feel very lucky to have players who want to deliver for the country and keep the green flag aloft,” he said.Team: Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul Haq (vice captain), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Rashid Latif, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Malik, Wasim Akram, Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq and Misbahul HaqManager: Yawar Saeed. Coach: Mudassar Nazar.

England batsman Michael Vaughan has been voted Player of the Year by the Professional Cricketers’ Association.Vaughan scored 900 Test runs at an average of 90 in his seven Test matches this summer, with four centuries and two fifties.The other four players nominated were Nick Knight (Warwickshire), Ronnie Irani (Essex) Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire) and Mike Hussey (Northants).Young Player of the Year was Worcestershire’s Kabir Ali. James Anderson (Lancashire), Jim Troughton (Warwickshire), Rikki Clarke (Surrey), and Gordon Muchall (Durham) were the other players nominated for this award.

There are different ways of setting a match-winning total and the approaches adopted by India and Pakistan during the Kitply Cup were outstanding examples of contrasting methods which produced the same result – a total in excess of 300. India were 143 for 0 at the end of the 20th over in the first match against Pakistan; at the same stage in the final, Pakistan were 75 for 1 and yet they scored only 15 runs fewer than what India did in the end.In the league match, India’s openers – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir – carted Pakistan’s wayward attack all over the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Their rapid partnership set up a solid platform for the rest to build on without worrying about the run-rate.Pakistan, on the other hand, chose caution over aggression during the Powerplay overs in the final. It was their capitulation to 26 for 3 that had shut them out while chasing 331, and today, Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal were watchful against Praveen Kumar, the bowler who took the first four wickets in their previous meeting.After Akmal fell, Younis Khan and Butt continued to build a steady foundation. More significantly for Pakistan, they carried on and seized the initiative. “They were 100 for 1 after 25 overs,” Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s captain, said. “After that they took on the bowlers and played some good shots. It really put the bowlers under pressure. And under the circumstances, we couldn’t recover from that.”With Praveen having wrecked Pakistan and restricted Bangladesh in India’s earlier games, the rest of the bowlers had the advantage of bowling to under-pressure batsmen trying to rebuild. But today, India’s support bowlers were faced with the task of making inroads. Although he dismissed Akmal, Irfan Pathan failed to create any pressure, conceding six boundaries in his first spell of six overs. Piyush Chawla, who had taken 4 for 40 to clean up Pakistan’s lower order in the earlier encounter, haemorrhaged runs once Younis and Butt consciously began to attack. The four part-timers Dhoni used were also ineffective: Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina conceded 71 for no wicket between them.Faced with an attack lacking incisiveness, Younis and Butt shifted seamlessly from first to fourth gear. Their approach was that of a calculated assault – aggression with minimal risk. They batted with authority, picking out the gaps. Younis and Butt scored 84 runs between deep midwicket and long-on, but surprisingly the gap was never plugged.”He [Younis] was scoring through square leg as well, he was sweeping,” Dhoni said. “You hardly have fielders in that zone, you know the country [the area between deep midwicket and long-on] area. Having a long-on and a country is difficult. He was picking it from outside off and most of the times he cleared the boundary. He took on the bowlers and he was successful.”Between overs 20 and 40, a period heavily criticised for its lack of intensity after the arrival of Twenty20, Younis and Butt plundered 150 runs, even more than what Sehwag and Gambhir had managed during the Powerplays on Tuesday. When Younis finally got out, Pakistan had eight wickets in hand for the last eight overs, a luxury that allowed them to bat with a carefree approach.Dhoni admitted there was not much that could have been in the wake of a superlative batting performance. “It [scoring] was really hard to control, you try many fields, you try many lines. There were errors from the bowlers but you can’t really blame them. They were batting well and scoring off good balls.”Call it cautious or old-fashioned, Pakistan’s methodical approach gave India no footholds from which they could climb back into the game. They came out with a plan, which according to Shoaib Malik, their captain, was to “survive initially and then accelerate”, and executed it with precision.

Rain forced the abandonment of New Zealand women’s first game of their three-match series against Ireland at Clontarf, Dublin today.New Zealand batted first and scored 249/6 in the 42 overs they had available to them.The teams left the field after 25 overs had been bowled and the match was reduced to a 42-over affair.Rebecca Rolls (88) and Nicola Payne (60) gave the New Zealanders a fine start.Other batsmen were: Emily Drumm (two), Kathryn Ramel (20), Kate Pulford (seven), Sara McGlashan (25), Fiona Fraser (26 not out) and Rachel Pullar (one not out).Ireland batted for 6.1 overs before rain forced the abandonment of the game. At that stage they were 18 for one wicket.The team’s next game is on Wednesday at Malahide in Dublin.

Surrey are well on the way to another Championship win after forcing Warwickshire to follow on at The Oval. After a second double century in consecutive games from Mark Ramprakash set up a first-innings total of 475, James Ormond (five for 116) and Saqlain Mushtaq (four for 97) combined to dismiss the hosts for 293. Neil Smith (74) was top scorer for Warwickshire, who ended the day on 165 for three in their second innings, still 17 runs behind. Mike Powell is on 66 not out.A century from Neil Burns carried Leicestershire to within 11 runs of Hampshire’s first-innings total at Grace Road, before Phil DeFreitas got amongst the visitors’ top order in their second innings. He took three for 31 as Hampshire closed on 102 for four, 113 runs ahead. Captain Robin Smith is unbeaten on 40.Sussex have made a much better fist of their second innings against Kent at Hove than they did of their first. After Ed Smith made 141 to give Kent a first-innings lead of 204, Sussex looked to be struggling terminally at 54 for three. However Murray Goodwin (108*) and Timothy Ambrose (101*) have compiled an unbroken double century partnership for the fourth wicket to put the hosts back into contention.It does not look as if Yorkshire are going to get their first win of the season against Somerset. They trail by 240 with four wickets intact. Replying to Somerset’s 498 for nine declared, Yorkshire are 258 for six with half centuries for Darren Lehmann, Richard Blakey and Vic Craven.In Division Two, Durham ended their barren spell and at the same time brought Derbyshire down to earth with an 89 run win. There were four wickets for Kevin Dean as Durham were bowled out for 203 in their second innings, leaving Derbyshire to score 299 to win. They got off to a reasonable start with a 58 run opening partnership between Stephen Stubbings (30) and Michael Di Venuto (40), but although there were other useful contributions down the order there was nobody fashioning the big innings around which everyone else could bat and Durham got home inside three days.Leaders Essex are in all sorts of trouble against Worcestershire. They trail by 61 with five second innings wickets in hand after reaching 115 for five. Earlier Worcestershire had taken their first innings to 373 with Steve Rhodes scoring 56. There was a maiden championship half century for Mark Pettini in the Essex second innings.Andy Strauss scored 82 and Sven Koenig 59 as Middlesex reached 297 for nine against Gloucestershire, but they still trail by 91. So far there have been five wickets for Ian Fisher. While that match is heading for a draw, it would seem, Nottinghamshire have beaten Glamorgan by seven wickets. They bowled out Glamorgan for 211 despite 55 from Matthew Maynard. There were five wickets for Paul Franks on his return after a lengthy injury. Set 97 to win, Jason Gallian was unbeaten on 55 when his side achieved their victory.

The Sri Lankan’s are in Pakistan and it’s their seventh tour to Pakistan since the first, way back during the 1981-82 season. They have also toured Pakistan in between, for World Cup games and for some other ODI engagements. This time they are scheduled to play the final of 2001-02 Asian Test Championship starting 6th of March.Following is a statistical summary of Pakistan – Sri Lanka previous Test matches.

Summary of all Series (11)Series Host Tests Pak SL Draw Series1981-82 Pakistan 3 2 – 1 Pakistan1985-86 Pakistan 3 2 – 1 Pakistan1985-86 Sri Lanka 3 1 1 1 drawn1991-92 Pakistan 3 1 – 2 Pakistan1994-95 Sri Lanka 2 2 – – Pakistan1995-96 Pakistan 3 1 2 – Sri Lanka1996-97 Sri Lanka 2 – – 2 drawn1998-99 Pakistan 1 – – 1 Pakistan (ATC)1998-99 Bangladesh 1 1 – – Pakistan (ATC)1999-00 Pakistan 3 1 2 – Sri Lanka1999-00 Sri Lanka 3 2 – 1 PakistanIn Pakistan 16 7 4 5In Sri Lanka 10 5 1 4Neutral 1 1 – -Overall 27 13 5 9Highest innings totalsPakistan: 600-8 dec at Galle in 1999-00Sri Lanka: 479 at Faisalabad in 1985-86Lowest innings totalsPakistan: 132 at Colombo (CCC) in 1985-86Sri Lanka: 71 at Kandy in 1994-95Individual hundreds (42)Pakistan (23)Batsmen Score Venue SeasonIjaz Ahmed 211 Dhaka 1998-99Qasim Umar 206 Faisalabad 1985-86Javed Miandad 203* Faisalabad 1985-86Inzamam-ul-Haq 200* Dhaka 1998-99Saleem Malik 155 Colombo (SSC) 1996-97Haroon Rashid 153 Karachi 1981-82Inzamam-ul-Haq 138 Karachi 1999-00Saeed Anwar 136 Colombo (PSS) 1994-95Zaheer Abbas 134 Lahore 1981-82Wajahatullah Wasti 133 Lahore 1998-99Mohsin Khan 129 Lahore 1981-82Saeed Anwar 123 Galle 1999-00Rameez Raja 122 Colombo (PSS) 1985-86Wajahatullah Wasti 121* Lahore 1998-99Moin Khan 117* Sialkot 1995-96Younis Khan 116 Galle 1999-00Ijaz Ahmed 113 Colombo (RPS) 1996-97Inzamam-ul-Haq 112 Galle 1999-00Younis Khan 107 Rawalpindi 1999-00Saleem Malik 101 Sialkot 1991-92Saleem Malik 100* Karachi 1981-82Inzamam-ul-Haq 100* Kandy 1994-95Wasim Akram 100 Galle 1999-00Sri Lanka (19)Batsmen Score Venue SeasonMS Atapattu 207* Kandy 1999-00ST Jayasuriya 188 Kandy 1999-00PA de Silva 168 Colombo (RPS) 1996-97S Wettimuny 157 Faisalabad 1981-82PA de Silva 138* Colombo (SSC) 1996-97A Ranatunga 135* Colombo (PSS) 1985-86PA de Silva 127 Colombo (PSS) 1994-95RP Arnold 123 Lahore 1998-99PA de Silva 122 Faisalabad 1985-86AP Gurusinha 116* Colombo (PSS) 1985-86HP Tillakaratne 115 Faisalabad 1995-96ST Jayasuriya 113 Colombo (SSC) 1996-97PA de Silva 112 Rawalpindi 1999-00RL Dias 109 Lahore 1981-82PA de Silva 105 Karachi 1985-86PA de Silva 105 Faisalabad 1995-96HP Tillakaratne 103 Colombo (RPS) 1996-97PA de Silva 103* Colombo (SSC) 1996-97RS Kaluwitharana 100 Lahore 1998-99Best bowling in an inningsPakistan: Imran Khan (8-58) at Lahore 1981-82Sri Lanka: JR Ratnayeke (8-83) at Sialkot 1985-86Best bowling in a matchPakistan: Imran Khan (14-116) at Lahore in 1981-82Sri Lanka: M Muralitharan (10-148) at Peshawar in 1999-00Highest partnership for each wicketPakistanWkt Runs Batsmen Venue Season1st 156 Wajahatullah Wasti & Shahid Lahore 1998-99Afridi2nd 151 Mohsin Khan & Majid Khan Lahore 1981-823rd 397 Qasim Umar & Javed Miandad Faisalabad 1985-864th 178 Wajahatullah Wasti & Yousuf Lahore 1998-99Youhana5th 132 Saleem Malik & Imran Khan Sialkot 1991-926th 124 Inzamam-ul-Haq & Younis Khan Karachi 1999-007th 120 Younis Khan & Wasim Akram Galle 1999-008th 88 Moin Khan & Waqar Younis Karachi 1999-009th 145 Younis Khan & Wasim Akram Rawalpindi 1999-0010th 90 Wasim Akram & Arshad Khan Colombo (SSC) 1999-00Sri LankaWkt Runs Batsmen Venue Season1st 335 MS Atapattu & ST Jayasuriya Kandy 1999-002nd 217 S Wettimuny & RL Dias Faisalabad 1981-823rd 176 UC Hathurusingha & PA de Silva Faisalabad 1995-964th 240* AP Gurusinha & A Ranatunga Colombo (PSS) 1985-865th 143 RP Arnold & RS Kaluwitharana Lahore 1998-996th 121 A Ranatunga & PA de Silva Faisalabad 1985-867th 131 HP Tillakaratne & RS Kalpage Kandy 1994-958th 76 PA de Silva & WPUJC Vaas Colombo (SSC) 1996-979th 52 PA de Silva & RJ Ratnayake Faisalabad 1985-8610th 73 HP Tillakaratne & KSC de Silva Dhaka 1998-99

Kalabagan Krira Chakra (KCC) was lucky to get away with a 23 run win over Young Pegasus in a low scoring match of GrameenPhone Premier League staged at BNS today. Two important contributions from all rounder Mushfiqur Rahman and left-arm offie Manjural Islam Rana helped KCC get full points, despite they managed only 163 from 44.4 overs.The target was easy and achievable on this flat track, but spinner Manjural Islam Rana and Mosaddek Hossain made it difficult, rolling up as real killers for KCC with their spectacular combination of off and leg spin from both ends. Except Shamimul Haq (28), Jamal Faisal (24) and Tanvir Alam (18), no batsmen could get along with the guile of those two bowlers.Pegasus were bundled out for 140 in 40.4 overs.Mosaddek mauled in the Pegasus front line removing 3 for 19 from his ten while Manjural Islam Rana polished off the tail, claiming 4 for 10 from his 6.4 overs.KCC, losing the toss early in the morning, batted first, made a slow but steady start. Their first top four batsmen got by with reasonable totals. Among them Mushfiqur Rahman top scored 60 off 89 balls while Rafiqul Islam (25), Nahidul Haq (23) and Nasirul Alam (25) all made some contribution, but the rest seven batsmen couldn’t even reached the double figure.Mushfiqur, though didn’t hammer any boundary, was clever in his approach, didn’t go for any risky venture, relied on only singles and twos most of the time. He was correctly adjudged for the man-of-the-match. For Pegasus Saifullah Khan captured 2 for 28 where Mahbub Alam claimed 2 for 29.

England captain Nasser Hussain has been ruled out of the remaining Testseries against Pakistan and possibly the NatWest Series after breaking histhumb at Lord’s this morning.Hussain was taken to hospital after his hand was struck by deliveries fromWaqar Younis and then Shoaib Akhtar. He required on-the-field treatment fromphysio Dean Conway and was taken to hospital for a precautionary X-rayduring the luncheon interval where a bone in his right thumb was found to befractured.He will take no further part in the current Test at Lord’s and will sit outthe Second Test at Old Trafford, freeing him up to attend the birth of hisfirst baby. It remains unclear whether he will play any part in the NatWestSeries involving Australia and Pakistan.Hussain said: “I was enjoying the occasion and to have four to five weeks off is hugely disappointing – at least it happened at the end of the innings rather than the beginning,” said Hussain.”The ball hit me full on the thumb and there is nowhere for it to go,especially when you are hit by someone like Shoaib Akhtar.”I’m seeing a specialist in the week but our physio doesn’t seem to think Iwill need an operation so it’s really just about rest and batting again onceyou’re not in pain.”Alec Stewart takes over as captain at Lord’s and selectors will announcetheir choice of stand-in captain for the Old Trafford Test match nearer thetime.Hussain broke his hand in 1999 while fielding in the First Test Match asEngland captain against New Zealand at Lord’s. He missed the next Test atOld Trafford, with Mark Butcher taking over as captain.Hussain later brushed aside any suggestion that he is especially susceptible tobreaks or that he had been let down by the amount of protection in his gloves.”If Shoaib Akhtar hits you at 90mph there is nothing you can do,” hereasoned.”You play for ten to 12 years and you get three or four breaks – that is theway it goes.”It is very disappointing. I keep looking at what I am putting on my gloves,but let’s put this in perspective.”Yes, it will take four or five weeks now. But when you bat up the order andyou get seriously good bowlers trying to break your fingers that is part of thegame.”I have been in good form and I was looking forward to keeping batting forlong periods of time.”It is now going to be a very difficult few weeks, but I will just have totry to keep myself in that batting frame of mind.”Hussain’s wife Karen is due to give birth on June 1 so he will be able to attend the birth without worrying about any conflict with his England duties.”The baby’s due in about a week’s time,” said Hussain. “I think my wifewill be the only pleased person in the stands at the moment.”

Match facts

October 28, 2012
Start time 1730 local (1530 GMT)Sydney Sixers’ attack will be led by Mitchell Starc who has been among the best bowlers of the year in Twenty20s•Associated Press

Big Picture

The Champions League T20 may be the ugly step-sister of the cricketing world, with most fans giving it the cold shoulder, but for many of the players involved the final will be the biggest payday of their lives. With the champions getting a cool $2.5m, the money on offer will bump players, especially those who aren’t part of national teams or aren’t globetrotting T20 specialists, up a tax bracket or two. Adding to the occasion will be the sell-out crowd at one of cricket’s iconic venues, the Wanderers Stadium, which will make it among the biggest audiences some of the domestic players will play in front of.And contesting the final are the two most consistent sides of the tournament. Lions weren’t topping anybody’s list of favourites when the tournament began, but they have exceeded expectations through a combination of teamwork and temperament, keeping their head when things start to get tight. They have plenty going for them. The Wanderers is their home ground, and no one knows the conditions there better than Lions. The diversity in their batting – Twenty20 batting doesn’t get too much more of a contrast than the leg-side biffing of Ghulam Bodi and the surgical precision of Neil McKenzie – has been married to consistency through the tournament. And the bowling has four match-winners: their two imports Dirk Nannes and Sohail Tanvir, their best bowler in the domestic tournament, Chris Morris, and one of the bowlers of the CLT20, Aaron Phangiso.Their one reverse in this tournament came against their opponents in the final, Sydney Sixers. When the Big Bash League was launched a year ago, Sydney Sixers were the butt of jokes for their flamboyantly pink outfits, a colour which they started to refer to as ‘mangenta’. A year on, they have earned the respect of Twenty20 fans after winning the inaugural BBL, and are yet to drop a game in the CLT20.They came into the tournament as one of the leading contenders and have so far lived up to the tag, despite losing the services of Dwayne Bravo and Brett Lee to IPL teams, and that of possibly the most valuable player currently in T20 cricket, Shane Watson, midway through the tournament. They could also be without their captain, Brad Haddin, for the final, as he picked up a thumb injury – though he was fit enough to bat on Friday.

Watch out for…

Steve O’Keefe has opened the innings only three times in T20s: the semi-finals and final of the BBL, and Friday’s CLT20 semi-final against Titans. On all three occasions he has made a significant contribution, including a Man of the Match performance against Titans. In addition, his left-arm spin has been taken for less than a run-a-ball this tournament.Fast bowler Chris Morris was the top wicket-taker in South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition last season, and he came into the CLT20 on the back of a 12-wicket haul against Dolphins in a first-class game. He started off quietly in this tournament but hit the headlines with his spell against Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals, helping his team defend a sub-par score by taking the key wicket of David Warner and then killing off the game with scalp of Kevin Pietersen.

Weather and conditions

Despite gloomy weather forecasts, the showers thankfully stayed away during both semi-finals. The organisers will hope that trend continues for the final as well, when light rain is predicted.

Stats and trivia

• Mitchell Starc is the leading wicket-taker not just in the tournament but in all Twenty20s this year, with an astonishing 56 wickets in 26 matches
• Six of the Lions players who were part of the semi-final have a batting average over 26 in T20s, while the highest among Sydney’s players in the semi-final was Nic Maddinson’s 25.76

Quotes

“I think the middle overs will be important. We’ve dominated that period in almost all our games and I think that will play a massive role once again.”

“Lions are very desperate to win. This is a chance for the domestic teams to showcase their skills at the international stage.”