Raipur: After put in to bat first in the third match of CLT20, Northern Knights were powered to 206 runs against Justin Ontong-led Cape Cobras by a brilliant hundred by Kane Williamson at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.
Here is the live cricket score.
The opening pair of Anton Devcich and Kane Williamson did not go for all-out attack in the initial overs of Northern Knights batting. Considering, the experienced Charl Langeveldt and canny Vernon Philander were bowling from the either end, that was not a bad ploy.
However, that plan from the Kiwi side did not go on for too long as the 4th over of the inning bowled by Philander went for 15 runs. The next over bowled by Rory Kleinveldt was not too economical either as Knights scored 10 off the fifth over to take their score to 42.
The run feast continued as the Devcich and Williamson brought up team's fifty before powerplay got over and further continued to smash Cape Cobras bowling attack. While Devcich was not too sedate, Kane Williamson's blitz was a showstopper of sorts as Northern Knight amassed 93 runs in first 10 overs.
The partnership was eventually broken when Devcich was run-out but not before he had scored 67 off 46 balls and put up a 140-run partnership with Williamson. Knights' skipper Flynn could only last for two balls. But that did not much affect the side from New Zealand as Williamson and Watling continued the merry ways for Knights.
While Watling could not last till the 20th over, that did not stop Kane Williamson from scoring a brilliant hundred. His century powered Northern Knights to a huge total of 206 in their quota of 20 overs.
Hashim Amla departs for 20 runs caught by santner off Kuggeleijn bowling
Teams:
Cape Cobras: Hashim Amla, Stiaan van Zyl, Omphile Ramela, Justin Ontong (captain), Dane Vilas, Justin Kemp, Vernon Philander, Robin Peterson, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Aviwe Mgijima.
Northern Knights: Anton Devcich, Kane Williamson, Daniel Flynn (captain), BJ Watling, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Styris, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
Preview:
Champions League T20 is no Indian Premier League. The stadium roar can be heard only when renowned international stars are in the middle. An injury to JP Duminy made Cape Cobras a little weak but they have performers to guide them through to the next stage. They take on Northern Knights – who beat Mumbai Indians in the qualifiers – in the Group B tie of Champions League T20 in Raipur on Friday.
If Cape Cobras have Hashim Amla, the Knights have the deadly pace and swing combination of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.
Key players:
Vernon Philander: Northern Knights have specialist bowlers but their batting lacks experience. Philander has to step up and play a vital role to restrict the Knights going by his technical knowhow of the T20 format.
Kane Williamson: The only batsman who stands out on pen and paper for the Knights. If he scores, he can might as well win the match for the team.
