Match facts
October 25, 2012 Start time 1730 local (1530 GMT)
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Big Picture
After South Africa lost from a winning position against Pakistan in the
recent World Twenty20, the choking question inevitably came up during AB
de Villiers' press conference. De Villiers put on a brave smile and
said if South Africa made the semi-finals of the tournament there would
be no choking then. South Africa didn't, and de Villiers' assertion
wasn't tested. A team from South Africa, Lions, has made the semi-finals
of the Champions League Twenty20, and tomorrow won't be a bad time to
see whether de Villiers' confidence is backed up by Alviro Petersen and
his men. They have already suffered a mini-choke, against Yorkshire, on
their way to the knockouts, where they will be facing a side who have a
habit of dominating the league stage and messing up in semi-finals.
Delhi Daredevils have made the IPL knockouts three times in five
seasons; they are yet to play in an IPL final, leave alone winning the
title. On two of those three occasions, they have topped the table after
a long and gruelling league stage only to come up short on the big
night. It won't be only the South Africans playing under the shadow of
the 'c' word in Durban.
It is interesting to note that the Indian franchise has relied purely on
the quicks to make it this far while a left-arm spinner, Aaron
Phangiso, has been the key element around which the South African
franchise's attack has revolved. Daredevils' attack is lopsided for
Indian conditions, but here in South Africa, it has worked superbly.
Watch out for…
Aaron Phangiso has gone for just 4.43 runs an over so far in the
tournament. Daredevils, with a captain who is inventive against spin and
a former captain who goes hyper-aggressive against it, could target
him. He has the variations to cope with attacking batsmen.
Morne Morkel, once again, has led Daredevils' attack admirably.
He's been quick, difficult to score off and nasty with the bounce he
gets. Most of the Lions batsmen would have played him a lot. How will
they tackle him?
Weather and conditions
The tournament has seen four washouts so far. Even as the final league
game between Titans and Daredevils was falling prey to rain in Centurion
on Tuesday, it was pouring down in Durban, the venue for tomorrow's
semi-final. The weather held up today, but the bowlers' run-ups were
still wet, and Lions had to practise indoors. The organisers are
considering a reserve day for the knockouts, but a final decision is yet
to be made. In case of a no-result, the team with the most wins in the
group stage will make the final, so Daredevils will be praying the rain
stops following them.
Quotes
"We always thought we can make it to the semis and even the final. The
guys have been working hard since April, when we lost the final of the
MiWay T20 Cup to the Titans. So, it's not a surprise that we're in the
semi-finals; we were expected to do well."Aaron Phangiso
Abhishek Purohit is an editorial assistant at ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: Abhishek Purohit
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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