Redbacks to take on Somerset in crucial tie

A sloppy outing against Warriors, a tie they lost by 50 runs, has made the equation tight for them. On the other hand, Somerset have emerged the surprise package, winning all the three matches, including two qualifiers, handsomely. So, many will be tempted to give the tag of favourites to the Englishmen.

But that could be a tad premature considering the Redbacks’ propensity to remain calm in crisis. In a crunch tie, they recorded a smooth, nerveless win over Kolkata Knight Riders to stay afloat in Group B. A bruising fifty by Callum Ferguson was the highlight of that win. A pleasing batsman, Ferguson is on his way back from a damaging knee injury that he had suffered in the 2009 editon of the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Ferguson’s form will be a significant factor on the morrow, but the Redbacks have some other players like skipper Michael Klinger, all-rounder Daniel Christian and Dutch batsman TomCooper, who can make the opposition pay even for an iota of tardiness. In bowling, they have Shaun Tait, promising pacer Kane Richardson and left-arm quick Gary Putland, while the spin department is well-served by offie Nathan Lyon.

The Redbacks are a few yards ahead in man-to-man calculations, but it’s their ability to upset the calculations that sets Somerset apart. The English side has scored two wins over the Knight Riders in this tournament (one each in qualifiers and main draw), and their biggest trump cards are skipper Alfonso Thomas and Murali Kartik.

Thomas’ accurate medium pace and ability to extract bounce have kept batsmen largely silent, while Kartik’s left-arm spin has had even some of the most explosive batsmen in knots. Add to the mix the bubbly and skilful South African Roelof van der Merwe, who had made a punishing fifty against the Knights, Somerset suddenly transform into a solid unit. Exciting moments will be aplenty when these two uninhibited sides go against each other.