Hyderabad, Sept 25: The Warriors continued their impressive run at Nokia CLT20 2011 when they beat South Australian Redbacks by 50 runs in a Group B encounter here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The win takes the Warriors to the top of the points’ table in Group B.
The last time these two sides met in the tournament, in 2010, the Warriors knocked out the Redbacks beating them by 30 runs in the semi-final stage. Today’s match followed a similar script with the Warriors reaching 171 for the loss of five wickets and then restricting the Redbacks to a modest 121 for six.
Jon-Jon Smuts set up the Warriors’ total with a swashbuckling 88 from just 65 balls – the highest score in an innings in Nokia CLT20 2011 so far. Smuts’ innings included ten fours and two sixes. Colin Ingram (30 off 24) and Mark Boucher (34 off 26) made useful contributions as the Redbacks’ bowlers struggled to contain the Warriors. Shaun Tait epitomised the Redbacks’ woes, the pacer going for 53 runs from his four overs with only a wicket, that of Ashwell Prince, to show for his efforts.
The Redbacks lost all hope of pulling off the run chase as they lost too many wickets early on. Barring opener Michael Klinger who scored 34, Daniel Harris (4), Tom Cooper (3) and Callum Ferguson (7) made insignificant contributions at the top. The Warriors bowlers stifled the Redbacks’ batsmen and never allowed them to get anywhere near the asking rate. Juan Theron, Wayne Parnell and Johan Botha were particularly impressive, the three going for less than 5.50 runs an over.
Today’s win makes it two out of two for the Warriors; they had beaten the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the tournament. The Warriors next play Kolkata Knight Riders on October 1 at Bengaluru while South Australian Redbacks play KKR on Tuesday in Hyderabad.
Brief scores: Warriors 171/5 in 20.0 overs (JJ Smuts 88, Mark Boucher 34, Daniel Harris 2/23) beat South Australian Redbacks 121/6 in 20.0 overs (Michael Klinger 34, Daniel Harris 26*, Lonwabo Tsotsobe 2/30) by 50 runs
Man-of-the-match: JJ Smuts for his all-round performance; he scored 88 (off 65 balls) with the bat and posted bowling figures of 2-0-16-1
