Dhoni should bat up the order: Gilchrist

Former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist is in favour of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni batting higher up the order, enabling him play as many overs as possible.

“He’s (Dhoni) such a danger to play against. I would like to see him bat up the order especially in the abbreviated version of the game. You want your best batsmen to face as many deliveries as possible,” Gilchrist told reporters.

“He has a lot on his plate, I understand that. But I would encourage him to bat higher in the order,” Gilchrist said, adding, “Dhoni paces his innings well. But its his decision.”

Trinidad and Tobago into the Finals of Champions League T20

It will be Trinidad and Tobago taking on the New South Wales Blues in the final of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 competition.

The boys from the Caribbean chased down a stiff target of 176 – to register the highest total successfully chased at Hyderabad, and to send Cape Cobras, who must have fancied their chances after posting 175 for 5 earlier in the evening, packing from the tournament. Given the number of catches put down in the run-chase and the number of run out opportunities missed, one can’t help but give the chokers’ tag a thought.

Daren Ganga, the captain of Trinidad and Tobago had said at the toss that his team had the wherewithal to chase down whatever the target. And so it turned out to be.

The architects of the successful run chase were Dwayne Bravo and skipper Daren Ganga, who were involved in a 93-run association for the fourth wicket – a new record partnership for Trinidad and Tobago. Bravo, who had received some stick with the ball earlier in the evening, hit some unbelievable shots in his innings of 58 (34 balls). He favoured the off side, scoring close to a third of his runs and hitting five off his seven boundaries on that side of the wicket.

Ross Taylor guides RCB to victory over Daredevils

Bangalore Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils crashed out of the Champions League Twenty20 after the formers` eight-wicket victory over their Indian Premier League opponents here on Saturday.

In a dramatic League B Super Eight match at the packed Chainnaswamy Stadium, Ross Taylor smashed a blistering 65 off just 38 balls to help Bangalore surpass the target of 139 with nearly five overs to spare.

Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Anil Kumble led from the front by grabbing three wickets to restrict Delhi Daredevils to a modest 138 for six.

Bangalore were only playing for pride as they were already out of contention for a semifinal berth after Cape Cobra`s victory over Victoria Bushrangers in another League B match earlier in the day.

NSW seal semifinal berth with crushing win

Stuart Clark did the spadework and David Warner then set the tone of the chase as New South Wales crushed Somerset by six wickets with 8.1 overs to spare to book a semifinal berth in the Champions League Twenty20 here on Saturday.

Clark (3/15) and his bowling colleagues first restricted Somerset to an unflattering 111 for seven and Warner (40 off 16 balls) then came down hard on the English side as NSW cruised to 112 in 11.5 overs, losing four wickets and recording a thumping victory that earned them a semifinal berth.

Chasing the modest target, the Australian team was off to a flying start with Warner cracking six boundaries and two huge sixers during his brief stay as the first five overs yielded 57 runs.

NSW suffered the first loss when Warner, who started on an attacking note by hitting two fours off Charl Willoughby (1/30) in the opening over, fell to Omari Banks (1/28) in the fifth over.

Royal Challengers Vs Cape Cobras – Todays CLT20 Match

Today the First Champions League T20 Match  is between Royal Challengers Vs Cape Cobras . match starts at 20:00:00 local time (14:30:00 GMT) at Bangalore. Dont miss the Champions League T20 Matches.

Champions league T20 Schedule

The inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20 , 2009 (CLT20) will begin from 8th Oct 2009 to 23rd Oct in Bangalore. So cricket fans , get ready for another Twenty20 extravaganza.

Twelve t20 teams from 7 countries will participate in this tournament.

There are 3 teams from the Indian Premiere League which are Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils. Two teams from Australia, England , South Africa and one team from West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will be participating.

The grouping and schedule of the tournament are as follows

Group A – Deccan Chargers, Trinidad & Tobago and Somerset
Group B – Eagles, New South Wales and Sussex
Group C – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Cape Cobras and Otago
Group D – Delhi Daredevils, Wayamba and Victoria

Champions league T20 Schedule

2009-10-08
Royal Challengers Vs Cobras Bangalore – 1st T20
Match scheduled to begin at 20:00:00 local time (14:30:00 GMT)
2009-10-09
NSW Blues Vs Eagles Delhi – 2nd T20
Match scheduled to begin at 16:00:00 local time (10:30:00 GMT)
2009-10-09
Delhi Daredevils Vs Victoria - 3rd T20
Match scheduled to begin at 20:00:00 local time (14:30:00 GMT)
2009-10-10
Cobras Vs Otago Volts Hyderabad - 4th T20
Match scheduled to begin at 16:00:00 local time (10:30:00 GMT)
2009-10-10
Deccan Chargers Vs Somerset - 5th T20
Match scheduled to begin at 20:00:00 local time (14:30:00 GMT)