Twenty20 / Ed Hawkins / 15 October 2009 / Leave a comment

Trinidad and Tobago look to be the most exciting side in the Champions League but if they are to produce an unexpected win, they must overcome the hard-nosed Australian outfits, says Ed Hawkins

So far the only predictable element of the Champions League has been the utter unpredictability of it all. In true keeping with Twenty20's reputation for the unexpected, out have gone Deccan, the IPL champions and Wayamba, who supposedly boasted the best spinner in the world. Even an English side , Somerset, has made it to the second round.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of all has been Trinidad and Tobago's brilliance. They knocked out Deccan to send the hosts to an eighth consecutive home defeat and by taking two points through to the second round, they look good for a semi-final spot.

T&T, therefore, should be deserving of a little more respect than the winner market affords. They are as big as [8.00] although, to be fair, theirs is not the only baffling price. No side in the last eight has scored more runs than T&T.

Cape Cobras, who also have a 100% record, are even bigger at [8.60]. New South Wales, the [3.95] favourites, are jollies and Victoria, [5.30] both take two points forward to the next round. It is likely that one win for each of these four in the next stage will secure their semi-final spot.

It all sounds simple enough but Twenty20 is anything but. Group A will consist of T&T, NSW, Somerset and the Eagles. The latter two look to be the runts of the litter in this second round. Group B hosts the Cobras, Victoria, Bangalore Royal Challengers and Delhi. Both IPL franchises need to buck up if the paymasters are not to miss out on the financial boost of having a home team in the last four.

The crunch games come thick and fast. Bangalore will be as good as out if they lose to Victoria today at the Chinnaswamy stadium while on Saturday, they play Delhi at the same venue. Delhi have something of a lifeline in the regard that they play the Cobras, who are the least economical in the field, at home, the Feroz Shah Kolta stadium, on a disgracefully slow pitch. It will play perfectly into the hands of their spinners who will hold dear South African sides' reputation for playing turn timidly.

The average first-innings score there in six matches is 130 and only one side batting second has won - Victoria against Delhi. That ensures that the first semi-final, between the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A, is a 50-50 call on the toss.

Delhi and Bangalore remain ridiculously short at [7.40] and [8.20] respectively and if one has yet to have a bet on this fascinating tournament, it cannot be advised that these two fit the bill. Indeed, Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan captain, said just before packing his bags that the IPL sides would struggle against teams who play together week in, week out.
"The teams that are showing the greatest balance are the favourites," he said. "The T&T side are bubbly, are all together and you can see the energy they have got."

By getting ahead of ourselves and factoring in the unexpected, the last four could see NSW take on Bangalore (that's our surprise package) with T&T meeting Victoria in the other semi. The immediate reaction to such a prediction is one of fear. Please, not an all-Australia final.

That would certainly fly in the face of Twenty's reputation but when NSW, inspired by Brett Lee, have conceded fewer runs than any side and Victoria boast Brad Hodge and David Hussey, the two top runscorers in the format's history, it gets increasingly hard to rule out Hyderabad being decked in light blue and dark blue on October 23.

Tags: Bangalore Royal Challengers, Cape Cobras, CHampions League betting, Champions League cricket, Deccan Chargers knocked out, Delhi Daredevils, Eagles, New South Wales, Somerset, T&T, Twenty20 betting, Victoria