We have reached the knockout stages of the CSA T20 Challenge with the semi-final of the tournament taking place at Kingsmead in Durban on Saturday as the Highveld Lions battle the Warriors for the right to face Dolphins in Sunday’s final.
These two sides finished second and third in the standings so they have earned the right to battle it out for a place in the final on Sunday. These two met in the opening match for each of them which the Highveld Lions won by four wickets.
Highveld Lions
But for one bad batting innings against the Dolphins, the Highveld Lions have been exemplary in this tournament. They will now hope for another top performance to earn a second crack at the hosts of the competition for a shot at the title. The Lions were my outright pick before a ball was bowled in this competition and aside from those 20 overs with the bat against the Dolphins there has been little to change my mind.
Were the Lions to win this tournament then they will have to play three matches in as many days so they were shrewd enough to rest some key bowlers for their final match against the Cape Cobras on Friday. Those coming in performed adequately but with Kagiso Rabada and Beuran Hendricks among others to return we should be expecting to see the best of the Johannesburg outfit in this match. Given that they’ve already beaten the Warriors this term that will give them plenty of confidence.
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Warriors
When the tournament started this stage of the competition it was expected that the final three would be the Dolphins, Highveld Lions and the Titans so already the Warriors have upset the applecart and now they will be hoping that they have another two special performances in them which would see them claim the title. I think it is fair to say they will need to be at their best here but they have beaten the Titans to make it to this stage and can draw confidence from that.
Technically the Warriors have already played one knockout match in this tournament. They had to win their final group game to push themselves above the Titans and they did that so they know they have it in them when the pressure is cranked up. This is a tough test for the Warriors but they have scored 157 in four of their five innings in this tournament and were they to post that again it would give them every chance given the way the pitched have worsened.
Betting
I fancy this could be one of those matches where runs on the board are important. We saw it more than ever on Friday how the pitches are really beginning to deteriorate now and that is no surprise. This is day nine of the tournament and there have been matches on the square every day, not too much rain and no protection for the wickets, so it stands to reason that the pitches are going to get harder for batting the longer the match goes on.
The runs line for this match is up at 294.5 runs, a figure which hasn’t been reached in any of the Lions matches since their opening game. That was against the Warriors which is less than ideal to be fair but the pitches were fine back then. It is no secret that the pitches have got worse and therefore no surprise the scores have got lower. These two teams both have decent bowling attacks and as I say I’m not convinced the chasing side wins here so even if the team batting first gets to 150 and more there is no guarantee this line is covered. I’m happy to be on the under.
Tips
WON – Back Under 294.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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