Eagles, Sharks in knockout tie; Wayamba need a miracle

 
Playing their second and last match against group leaders Victoria Bushrangers, the Sri Lankan domestic T20 champions not only need to win their match against the Australian side but win it big to off-set their woefully inadequate nett run-rate here at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium on Tuesday.

With Virender Sehwag at the forefront of things, Delhi Daredevils humbled the Jehan Mubarak-led side by 50 runs to enhance their nett run-rate to +0.70 while Victorias’ +1.10 is a way above Wayamba’s -2.50, a situation that virtually shuts the door on Lankan team.

But beating Victoria, the Australian T20 champions, will be a difficult proposition to put it mildly. The Cameron White-led side showed they are a tough nut to crack even under conditions that are more suitable to the sub-continental players. The Australians’ ability, New South Wales included, to quickly assess the conditions and adapt to them, has been exemplary and Wayamba will have to play out of their skins to stop their fancied opponents.

While Wayamba top-order batsmen crumbled next to nothing, their bowlers were guilty of bowling too many boundary bowls that was a recipe for disaster and a change in their approach is a must.

“I think we’ll just stick to our own plan. We’ve been reasonably successful back in Australia so if we stick to our plan and our basics and we do our disciplines very well then we generally win the game,” said Victorian batsman David Hussey. “I thought it was a very good contest the other night (against Delhi).

“It showed that we had a game plan, we stuck to it and we did the basics a bit better than Delhi. So hopefully we can repeat that against Wayamba on Tuesday night,” he added.

In other match of the day, it’s a must-win situation in Group B for Diamond Eagles and Sussex Sharks, both beaten by New South Wales Blues. Unlike the Wayamba-Victoria match where run-rate might come into play, it’s straight equation between Eagles and Sharks, the winner making it to the next stage.