The Highveld Lions Caused a shock upset by withstanding a Sachin Tendulkar assault to send Mumbai Indians rushing back to the dressing room at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in the first match of the Champions League Twenty20 2010.
highveld lions celebrate
The Lions appeared to have jinxed themselves when their captain, Alviro Petersen, was unfairly run out by his opening partner, Jonathan Vandiar. Richard Cameron's ambition got the better of him and it appeared Mumbai Indians had a hold on this one.
But then came the Vandiar show, and it erased from memory his lapse with the captain early on in the innings. Runs began to flow as Vandiar consolidated and then capitalized. From thirty-nine for two after six overs to 145 for four after seventeen overs, it was the Vandiar grip that helped the Lions regain their balance and enter the race with a timely sprint.
And the final push came from the experienced Neil McKenzie, who once again showed his enterprise in the Twenty20 game much like in the Twenty20 Cup in England. McKenzie's breezy thirty ball fifty-six took the game away from the MI whose hopes of chasing a target short of 140 were dashed by a tremendous display for the Lions to finish on 186 for five.
The Mumbai Indians may have been chasing a total that required them to go at nine runs an over, but there was no discounting the power of the MI captain. Sachin Tendulkar was smoothen silk as he caressed the balls with astonishing power and precision that made marking him a difficult proposition for the South African qualifiers.
The Lions appeared to have been tamed as the scoreboard galloped to eighty-three runs at the half way stage of the Mumbai Indians innings before Shikar Dhawan fell for thirty-two. But the Sachin express carried on, almost throwing off the nerve racked Lions.
Perhaps the turning point of the match, or at least of the Mumbai Indians innings, was one that Shane Burger will not forget in a hurry. Burger produced two mesmerizing balls that bowled out both, Sachin Tendulkar ( batting fluently till then on sixty-nine off only forty-two balls ) and Kieron Pollard, and effectively halted the Mumbai Indians dead in their tracks at four down for 156 by the end of seventeen overs.
Disturbed stumps and an even more disturbing injury to Harbhajan Singh was how the MI innings began to taper away into a distant dream to the extent that they needed thirteen runs from the final two deliveries. The Lions could not be more thrilled, having won the match by nine runs despite the Tendulkar assault that nearly vindicated their underdog tag.
For News of the Champions League Twenty20 2010 follow the links below:
Champions League Twenty20 2010 Schedule, Teams, Points Table, and Results
Zuma, Iglesias, Locnville Fail to Enthuse Champions League Twenty20 2010 Opening Ceremony
Justin Kemp Gets Call Up After Thilan Thussara is Injured for Chennai Super Kings in CLT20
Champions League Twenty20 2010 in South Africa Preview: Glimmer Amidst Gloom
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