The Champions League T20 got underway on Saturday with a game between two of the heavyweights of the T20 format. Mumbai Indians, the team with the most fans of any domestic team, with global stars such as the legend himself Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, and Mitchell Johnson, and ably led by young captain Rohit Sharma, faced off against the Rajasthan Royals, a team short on stars but high on resolve, led by the retiring Rahul Dravid, "The Wall", which would be an appropriate nickname for what they've built up at their home, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Royals have an excellent record at home, so it would be a tough task for the star-studded defending IPL champion Mumbai to come in and breach the fortress.
The build-up to the game focused mainly on the fact that it may be the last time we see two Indian legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, on the field together. However when the actual game came along, neither was much of a factor. The Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first on a pitch that was grassy and supported their bowling attack of 5 pacers as opposed to Mumbai's attack of 3 pacers and 2 spinners, although those 2 spinners were Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha, who have periodically bowled together for India. Tendulkar looked back to his best for all of 17 deliveries before he was out, leaving Sharma and Pollard to do the rebuilding work to get them to a competitive score of 142.
The other legend in today's game Dravid, was out for just 1 in the 2nd over. Enter 18 year old Sanju Samson. Samson played an extremely responsible innings of 54 from 47 balls and led the Royals to victory with Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane lending able support.
The kid outshines the legends. A changing of the guard within the Indian team is soon to be in store, and Samson will definitely be a part of it.
Some notes from the second day:
Trinidad and Tobago might have the best bowling attack in the tournament.
Chennai are the best all-around team and most consistent team in all of T20 cricket.
Looking forward to tomorrow.
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