Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Can the Dolphins take on the Lahore Lions at this year's CLT20?


This year's Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament will see Group A's Dolphins take on the Lahore Lions on September 27th.

The match will see the South African side take on Pakistan's Lahore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

It was a controversial topic as to whether or not the Lahore Lions would be taking part in this year's competition. The team's visa application to play in India was a controversial issue  in the lead up to the tournament and it looked as though they could potentially not play.

However, despite a fragile political relationship between India and Pakistan, it was confirmed at the beginning of September that the team had had their visa applications approved and would be going to Bangalore to participate.

The concerns were heightened after it became apparent how few Pakistani players were playing in the Indian Premier League. The Lahore Lions captain, Mohammed Hafeez, was confident however and assured fans that the lack of league level play would not affect the Lions' outcome in their upcoming Champions League Twenty20 matches.

Prior to his arrival in Bangalore, Hafeez said: “We are departing with confidence. We all know how important the first stage is so we are focusing on qualifying for the next round. We, as a team, have been playing some exciting cricket in the last two years and the squad has gutsy players from our domestic circuit so we have an ability to fight at the top level.”

There is certainly some fighting talk from the Lahore Lions, who will also have to face this year's Indian Premier League winners, Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as third place contenders Chennai Super Kings before they take on the South African outfit.

The Dolphins are also pretty confident however, with their coach, all-rounder Lance Klusener, expressing his desire to take home the title this year. He said: “We are really looking forward to the challenge up ahead. Our intention is to come here and win this trophy and win this tournament. I think it's important that we approach it in that way and play in a certain way that we feel we can achieve that goal.”

The coach added that the tournament would be a great opportunity for the team's young players to stretch their legs.

With players like Adam Gilchrist not truly coming into their own until their 40s, the Dolphins could be proven wrong, but with the Lions' lack of league experience, their upcoming match really could be anybody's victory.

Make your pitch on this post...



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2 Pitched:

  1. Finance Mela said...
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  2. Finance Mela said...
     

    Both Teams are very strong in the shorter format. Dolphins have better chance of winning. fantasy t20 cricket

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