Mumbai will play the Lions in the first match of the Champions League T20 in South Africa. This is the second edition of the Champions League t20 and both these teams had failed to qualify for the first edition of the Champions league T20 last year.

Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai had qualified for the tournament by finishing runner-up in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League. They had struggled in the first two editions of the IPL but in this third edition of the tournament, they had managed to get on a roll and became the first team to get to the semi-finals. They beat Bangalore in the semi-finals before losing to Chennai in the final.

The Mumbai Indians will be facing the home team, given that the Lions are from South Africa. This will mean that the side will need to perform on tracks which are totally opposite to the ones that they play on back home. In fact, there is a good chance that the Mumbai side may struggle on the South African pitches given that they had found it difficult to handle the Bangalore pace bowlers in one of the game when the track had a little zip about it.

Lions:

The Lions will have the advantage of playing at home, but it is a well-known fact that their side is not the best on paper. One look at them, and one will struggle to recognise the names in the list. Alviro Petersen is the captain of the team, the captain, and one of those who have played international cricket. But apart from him, there aren’t too many to name.

The good news is that Zander de Bruyn, who recently scored a century against the Pakistanis for Somerset, will be a part of the side as well, as will Neil McKenzie and wicket-keeper Thami Tsolekile.

It is the bowling that could be a worry for the Lions given the lack of international experience that the side has.

Time and Venue:

The game is a Group B encounter and will be played on September 10 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. The match will start at 5.30 pm local time and that will mean that the match will be played under lights. Under the lights, the ball does its bit in South Africa, as was evident in the Champions Trophy last year. This will mean that the Mumbai Indians will need to be wary of the opposition bowling, many of whom they would not have heard of.

Tag :- Alviro Petersen   Champions League   Indian Premier League   Mumbai Indians   Neil McKenzie   South Africa