Redbacks skipper Michael Klinger has led from the front in a man-of-the-match performance that helped his side to an 11-run win over locals, the Highveld Lions in their opening match of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 tournament at Centurion Park on Sunday.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Klinger’s side got off to a slow start before taking control of the match through the middle and latter overs to post an imposing 7-178, thanks mainly to a great partnership between the Klinger (78 off 48) and his deputy, Callum Ferguson (47 from 27).
In reply, the hosts got off to a quick start, but lost wickets at regular intervals which stalled their chase, finishing short of the target at 8-167. Lions captain Alviro Petersen was their highest scorer with 56 from 36 and looked in good touch until falling LBW to Dan Christian.
After the match, Klinger said it was just nice to get that first win on the board and praised the way everyone contributed.
“It was great to get off to a win and sometimes it doesn’t matter how you get a win as long as you get them,” Klinger said.
“It was a fantastic effort by the team and to be one from one is exactly where we wanted to be.”
Although the Redbacks got off to a slow start, they maintained wickets in hand for an assault later in the innings when the pitch settled down and scoring became easier.
“We didn’t set ourselves a par score because we weren’t exactly sure how the wicket would play – it was a little bit sticky early and with the new ball it was actually quite difficult,” Klinger said.
“But as the shine wore off it was a little bit easier to bat and I think in the end 170-180 was about par score and we defended it quite well.”
That defence was highlighted by speedster Shaun Tait who finished as the best of the bowlers with 3-36, while Christian also picked up 2-30 and Aaron O’Brien with 1-32
But it was also underlined by a great effort in the field that was showed through two run outs (Cullen Bailey and Gary Putland) that played important role in taking the game away from the Lions.
“They got off to a fantastic chase with the bat and put our bowlers under a bit of pressure but I thought we fought back really well in those middle and later overs,” Klinger said.
“The fact that we kept getting regular wickets, getting three (wickets) in the first six and getting regular wickets throughout probably helped us to stem their run flow.”
The Redbacks now travel to Durban tomorrow before playing the Mumbai Indians in their next group match on Tuesday at Kingsmead.
For a full scoregard of the game visit Cricket Australia
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