Confident Warriors face South Australian challenge (Preview)

The Champions League got off to a fascinating start when the South African side Warriors pulled off a last ball victory against hot favourites Bangalore in the first match of the tournament. Now, they face a challenge from the talented South Australians at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad, the same venue which hosted all the qualifiers.

To begin with, the Warriors seem to be a side lacking big names in the batting order but as they have enough depth to chase down any total. For them, the biggest plus has been the batting of Ashwell Prince who scored a match winning 55-ball 74 to anchor a big chase in their last match. Mark Boucher and Johan Botha in the middle order are steady batters who can salvage any situation even when batting is a difficult prospect.

Warriors may not be the favorites to lift the coveted trophy yet, but if they are able to stitch together few more victories, the odds will definitely tilt in their favour. For that to happen, they have to maintain the fielding standards. Plus, their bowlers especially the spin battery led by Botha and Boje has to make full use of the spin friendly conditions.

Their opponents, South Australia have some recognizable names- Callum Ferguson, Shaun Tait have played for Australia in the past, Nathan Lyon is coming off a fabulous debut series in Sri Lanka and Daniel Christian who has performed well for the IPL side Deccan Chargers.

By the look of it, South Australia have a strong batting line up- skipper Michael was one of the top performers with the bat in last edition of the tournament, Tom Cooper is a hard hitting batsman and Ferguson is real talent awaiting a chance in the national team. However, their temperament and technique will be tested against a spin heavy Warriors attack.

As far as their bowling is concerned, pace man Shaun Tait is the star. With his express pace and deadly yorkers, he can be handy at the death when the batsmen are on the lookout out for quick runs. They also have the leg spinners of Adil Rashid who along with Lyon can stifle the run scoring during the middle overs.

All in all, the match between two well balanced teams should be a tough contest between bat and ball, the side which holds its nerve at crucial moments would earn two points.

Warriors Squad: Johan Botha (c), Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher (wk), Andrew Birch, Colin Ingram, Justin Kreusch, Lyall Meyer, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Ashwell Prince, Jon-Jon Smuts, Kelly Smuts, Rusty Theron, Craig Thyssen, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

South Australia Squad: Aaron O'Brien, Adil Rashid, Callum Ferguson, Cameron Borgas, Chadd Sayers, Daniel Christian, Daniel Harris, Gary Putland, James Smith, Kane Richardson, Michael Klinger (c), Nathan Lyon, Shaun Tait, Tim Ludeman (wk), Tom Cooper