A night of passion awaits Hyderabad
espnstar.com’s Rajarshi Gupta looks ahead at what is certain to be a thrilling final between Trinidad and Tobago and the New South Wales Blues.
There they are after two weeks of intense Twenty20 cricket across three cities in India.
The New South Wales Blues and the surprise package of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20, Trinidad and Tobago now make up the two finalists of what has been a massive event.
People had expected much out of the Blues and like true Australians, they delivered with panache.
The red hot Trinidad and Tobago have been in a league of their own. No one gave them a chance before the tournament began but they had their game to play.
A convincing 44 run win against the Somerset Sabres was the start they needed and the Calypso juggernaut has not stopped since.
On a five match winning streak, T&T have run like a well-oiled machine.
Studded with the likes of Kieron Pollard, Adrian Barath, William Perkins, Dave Mohammad and Sherwin Ganga, skipper Darren Ganga has every right to fancy his chances in the final.
Besides, he himself is back in form as is his trusted aide-de-comp, Dwayne Bravo. Both men were involved in a crucial partnership in their semi-final triumph against the Cape Cobras.
The New South Wales Blues, on the other hand, are eager to avenge their Super Eights loss at the hands of more than T&T, Kieron Pollard.
Skipper Simon Katich said his team is ready to play some tough cricket in the final and revenge would be a priority against the Reds.
The Aussies have experience on their side. Their crack bowling attack led by Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Doug Bollinger may make all the difference at the end of tonight.
The Blues openers David Warner and Phillip Hughes have been destructive throughout the tournament. Both made glorious starts to their Australian careers earlier this year but lost their way in the middle.
However, they chose the Airtel CL T20 as the perfect launching pad for a comeback trail to the manifold.
The all-round capabilities of Moises Henriques will be important against a rampaging Trinidad and Tobago.
The one area where they the Blues will look to have an edge over them is the bowling department and Henriques will be the perfect foil for Lee, Bolliner and Clark alongwith off-spinner Nathan Hauritz.
If Sherwin Ganga's spell on Thursday night is anything to go by, Hauritz will have a huge role to play on a Hyderabad track, where the ball seemed to stop on the batsmen after pitching.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was buzzing on Thursday night with a nearly packed house cheering Trinidad and Tobago all the way to their convincing win.
Rest assured, the atmosphere will be just as electrifying tonight with the Blues and T&T set to lock horns in what will be the mother of all Twenty20 clashes.
The pitch will be just as sporting and the cricket as riveting. The two teams deserve to be there, vying for ultimate glory and neither will be found wanting on passion.
The noise decibel will go up by a few folds with the DJ, spectators and cheer-leaders promising to lead the way in a night of passion in Hyderabad.
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