DURBAN  – Delhi Daredevils will take on South African team Highveld Lions in the first semi-finals of the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 on Thursday (today) at Durban.
In the second semi0finals Sydney Sixers will face Titans on Friday at Centurion.
Delhi Daredevils topped Group A with 12 points winning their two completed matches. Two of their matches were rained off resulting in them topping the points table. Highveld Lions on the other hand have played four completed matches, won three and lost won. The only match that they lost was against the Sydney Sixers who are arguably the best side in the tournament on current form. Lions have defeated the defending champions Mumbai Indians and two times IPL champions and one time Champions League champions Chennai Super Kings to qualify for the semis and that proves how good they can be on their day.
Coming to the semis, Delhi Daredevils might have a slender edge over the Lions. Delhi Daredevils looks a balanced side and is best suited for this environment. From all the IPL teams that participated this year, Delhi is the one team that has a bowling attack suited for this environment. The Durban pitch will definitely have some bounce and carry and unlike the other IPL teams Delhi have the players who can not only handle these situations but can thrive on these.
Their batting is very strong and more importantly they have players who have no problems playing short pitch deliveries. Their captain Mahela Jayawardene is one of the best batsmen going around and is very comfortable with his hooks and his pulls. Sehwag might have a problem with the short ball, but he seldom gets out on those shots. Kevin Pietersen hasn’t had the best of times but he is a match winner and can kill bowlers on his day. Then there is Ross Taylor who had a brilliant T20 World Cup. No score is big enough once he gets going. Indian batsmen like Unmukt Chand and Naman Ojha have the ability of playing good innings.
Even the bowlers like Pathan and Agarkar have shown that they can finish the match and that gives Delhi an edge over other teams. Coming to bowling, Delhi have a good and an attacking bowling unit. They have the likes of Morne Morkel who is hard to hit in any condition, they have Irfan Pathan who can be lethal with his swing with the new ball. Umesh Yadav is very quick and can rattle an opposition and Ajit Agarkar is very experienced. The four men pace attack can be trusted to defend any total.
 Coming to Highveld Lions, it is the team which has surprised one and all. The Lions have played some terrific cricket to beat some of the best sides of the tournament. The thing about Lions is that they don’t have big stars in their line-up, they play well as a unit and are very confident in their ability.
Their captain Alviro Petersen has struggled and Lions will be hoping that he has saved his best for the semis. Gulam Bodi has delivered on top of the order, he is very un-orthodox in his approach but it has worked for him. Neil McKenzie has been the backbone of their batting line-up. He plays well in the middle overs and is very good in chasing the target, he will be very crucial for them in the semis. Than they have young talent like Quinton de Kock and Chris Morris who can hit big shots.
In the bowling department, Lions will be hoping that their two internationals’ Dirk Nannes and Sohail Tanvir will come good because if they do than things will get very difficult for Delhi Daredevils. They also have Aaron Phangiso in their side who has been the best spinner of the tournament. His role will be crucial against Delhi batsmen. It is a match between IPL giants and an inspired team and it should be one hell of a contest if the rain gods stay away.